Bill and Rob will provide an update on Trust & Safety initiatives at eBay, as well as answer your questions on the topic of Trust & Safety. You can submit questions before or during the event. Click here to submit your question, and to learn more!

We have also set up a thread on the Seller Central discussion board where we’ll be posting pictures during the event. Visit the thread during the Town Hall by clicking here.

The success eBay enjoyed this quarter is a direct result of our Community of members. Your passion and dedication have helped us build a thriving marketplace that continues to grow quarter after quarter.

We look forward to working together for even greater success in 2005 and beyond.

Thank you,
Meg

To learn more about eBay's performance for the quarter, click here.

To do so, click here and choose the “Edit” option. You will then be able to select “Delete My Page”.

If you choose to delete your About Me page, you will still be able to create a new page at any time.

About Me pages give you a space to tell other members about yourself, your business or your collections. If you need assistance with your About Me page, please visit our About Me Page discussion board to meet others and to exchange tips, tricks and design suggestions.

• Best Looking Store
• Best Shopping Experience
• Best Store Custom Pages.

When voting, please consider how these sellers use the following Storefront features:

• Store categories
• Store header
• Custom Pages
• Promotion boxes
• Custom logos and colors.

To vote for the Best in Stores Winners, click here. Voting runs through April 30, and we will announce the winners on the eBay Stores discussion board in mid-May.

Congratulations to the finalists and to all the Stores who entered the 2005 Best in Stores Contest!

Our guest this week is Rob Chesnut, Vice President of eBay Trust and Safety. Rob will be talking about recent news and features regarding Trust and Safety on the site, and will also be taking your calls. Plus, eBetsy will bring us “Around the world on eBay in 80 seconds". eBetsy will be visiting and "reporting" from each of our international sites from now until eBay Live. Learn more about the worldwide eBay with eBetsy!

And of course we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: Your calls! Got a question, comment, or concern? Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

If you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

To list an item and support a charity, look for "Donate percentage of sale" in the Pictures & Details section of the Sell Your Item form later this month. You'll be able to select a charity and what percentage of your final sale price will go the nonprofit.  The nonprofit directory is powered by MissionFish, the dedicated solution provider for eBay Giving Works.  If you have never listed an item for charity, you'll need to do a one-time setup with MissionFish directly from Sell Your Item. And as you may know, if you choose to contribute 100% of the final sale price and your item sells, eBay will donate 100% of the insertion and final value fees to your selected charity as well.

Currently, members who list eBay Giving Works items do so directly on the MissionFish site. To allow us to move the listing process from MissionFish to the Sell Your Item form, you will be unable to list charity items on MissionFish from April 23rd through April 26th.  After this transition period, you will be able to list items directly from the Sell Your Item form. Turbo Lister will support listings for eBay Giving Works later in the year.

For more information about eBay Giving Works, please click here. My team will also host an eBay Giving Works workshop to talk about the new feature on April 29th. Stay tuned for more details about this workshop. 

Thanks for supporting your favorite causes through Giving Works!  

Regards,

Kristin Cunningham
General Manager of eBay Giving Works

• Air Compressors – within Industrial Supply, MRO and Construction > Light Equipment
• Generators – within Industrial Supply, MRO
• Compactors – Walk-Behind – within Construction > Light Equipment
• Concrete, Cut-Off Saws – within Construction > Light Equipment
• Breakers & Demolition Hammers – within Construction > Light Equipment
• Trenchers – Walk-Behind – within Construction > Light Equipment

For sellers, Item Specifics help make it easier to present a clean, well-organized description that clearly articulates important details that buyers want to see. Using Item Specifics is free and optional. For buyers, Item Specifics improves the ability to find the right item for a given application, and buyers will also be able to search for items using Item Specifics a few weeks later.

If you list items manually through an eBay seller tool (e.g. Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister) or the eBay API, Item Specifics will be available in the next few weeks. If you utilize a 3rd party listing service (e.g., Andale, Auctionworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will offer the Item Specifics functionality in the above categories.

We have started a thread on the Business & Industrial discussion board to provide more detail about the upcoming changes. To access the thread please click here. If you have any comments or feedback about Item Specifics, please email them to business@ebay.com and they will be considered for future enhancements.

eBay Live! is the ultimate learning opportunity, packed with over 160 seminars, classes, roundtables, and discussions, to help you grow your business and meet your personal goals. Everyone from the newest beginner to the most advanced member will take away helpful information. It’s also a great chance to meet thousands of buyers and sellers from around the world, as well as exhibitors, educational consultants, and eBay and PayPal staff and executives. And don’t forget the gala party!

This year’s celebration event is shaping up to the best one yet! To learn more about this year’s classes and events, check out our eBay Live! pages. You’ll also find information to help you plan your trip to San Jose, such as where to stay, things to see, etc.

To register, click here.

Deciding What to Sell
This workshop will be held on Monday, April 18th, from 10:00 PDT to 11:00 PDT. Want to sell on eBay, but don't know what to sell? Did you know you can find items to sell with no money? Learn to think outside the box! Member and Education Specialist eauctiongurus will help simplify the process and show you how to research your potential items before deciding to sell them on eBay.

Protecting Against Identity Theft
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, April 19th, from 13:00 PDT to 14:00 PDT. Identity theft can cost you money as well as time to clear your name. It can lead to denied credit and housing, or lost job opportunities - or worse. Please join Equifax for this informative workshop on how to protect yourself and learn how you can combat identity theft.

Simple Listings
This workshop will be held on Thursday, April 21st, from 11:00 PDT to 12:00 PDT. It's easy to get started listing items for sale on eBay, and a little knowledge will help make your listings even more successful. Topics of discussion will include preparing descriptions and pictures, creating a listing using the Sell Your Item (SYI) form, how to choose appropriate listing upgrades (like Bold or Gallery), selecting your listing duration, and payment methods. Member and Education Specialist legend_sales_inc will also discuss how to review and revise your listing.

Workshops are hosted in discussion threads on the Workshops Board. To get to the Workshops Board:

• Click on Community at the top of almost any eBay page
• Click on "Discussion Boards" in the "Connect" Section
• Click on "Workshops" underneath the category-specific boards on the right-hand side of the page
• This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

To view archived workshops or to learn more about future workshop events, please check our Workshops Calendar.

Want timely reminders about workshops? Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. Each notification will include the time and date, a brief description of the event, and a link to the discussion thread where the actual workshop will be held.

To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

• Sales information summarized by format, top categories, ending day or time, and more
• Detailed item metrics such as average sale price and number of successful items
• Buyer counts that show your unique and repeat customers
• A breakdown of your eBay and PayPal fees
• Convenient online reporting in My eBay.

Plus, first-time subscribers get a 30-day free trial! To get your $100 of free eBay Keywords and to sign up for eBay Sales Reports Plus, click the “Sign Up Now!” button after clicking here.

For more information on the eBay Keywords program, click here.

Attend Selling Basics if you’re just getting started and learn about:

• Basic selling techniques
• How to create listings
• How to accept online payments with PayPal, and more.

Attend Beyond the Basics of Selling to take your sales to the next level and learn:

• Advanced selling techniques
• How to market your eBay listings
• What selling tools will save you time and increase sales, and more.

Register today for just $69! Note: Our previous announcement about this event mistakenly offered a “Bring a Friend for Free” offer. This offer does not apply for this event, and we apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this has caused.

Event Details:
Red Lion Hotel
1021 NE Grand Avenue
Portland, OR 97232

In the future, the Group Leader will receive an email five days before the Group is to be removed so they can decide whether they would like to keep the Group. In order to keep your Group available, the Leader or a member of the group will need to make a post to a discussion, add to a photo album, or make an announcement.

However, even if your Group is removed for inactivity, your ability to use eBay Groups will not be affected. You may start additional new Groups or participate in other Groups. In addition, we encourage all Group Leaders and Moderators to network with each other and share ideas for creating and managing lively groups, whether small and private or large and public.

The Home Improvement Retailer Helpdesk will help you:

• View the latest news and announcements from the Home & Garden team
• View the 100 Hottest Home & Garden categories for sellers to list in
• Learn how to conduct pricing research
• Find the resources needed to start a business on eBay.

To visit the Retailer Helpdesk, click here.

The Home & Garden team will also hold an online webinar for home improvement retailers on Thursday, April 21, 2005 from 12:00pm PDT to 1:00pm PDT. The webinar will take you through the new Home Improvement Helpdesk and explain in detail how to identify the appropriate inventory for selling on eBay, how to conduct price research and manage pricing expectations before listing your items, and how to find the help you need when you’re in the selling process.

Register for the webinar today by clicking here.

• Afghans, Throws - within Home Décor
• Shower Curtains - within Bath
• Tablecloths - within Dining & Bar > Table Linens

Item Specifics is an eBay feature that makes it easier for sellers to provide additional item details and a clear, well-organized description during the selling process. Buyers can then search using these item details, in addition to regular Title search and Description Search, thus finding these items more quickly and easily. Now Home & Garden sellers in these three categories will soon be able to distinguish their offerings by details such as Material, Size, Color, and Shape. Sellers can choose to include Item Specifics in their listing or not, and buyers can choose whether or not to search for these details.

If you list items manually through an eBay seller tool (e.g. Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister) or the eBay API, Item Specifics will be available in the next few weeks. If you utilize a 3rd party listing service (e.g., Andale, Auctionworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will offer the Item Specifics functionality in the Home & Garden category.

For more detailed information about Item Specifics in these categories, please refer to our Discussion Board post here. If you have any comments or feedback about Item Specifics in these categories, please email them to homecategories@ebay.com with Item Specifics in the header and they will be considered for future enhancements.

We appreciate your input on how we can make categories better for everyone. You may submit categories suggestions here.

Thanks again to all our members who contribute to these trade-enhancing changes!

Category structure changes include:

• Making the first category level alphabetized [A - Z] - Buyers will be able to search based on the artist's first name. This eliminates genre as the first category level.
• Listing the names of major artists under each letter - If a buyer clicks on the letter ‘A', they will find “ABBA,” “AC/DC,” “Aerosmith,” etc. Under the letter B, buyers will find “Beatles,” “Britney Spears” and more.
• Adding “Other” to each letter - Currently there is a very large “Other” category with the genre structure which makes it cumbersome to look through. Having an “Other A,” “Other B”, etc. will create much more manageable “Other” categories.
• Building deeper product category structure under major artists - If a member click s on ‘E', and then click s on ‘Elvis', they will see more product categories such as: Apparel, Concert Memorabilia, Toys & Novelties, Photos, Posters, Other, etc.

In order to take advantage of the new category structure and maximize sales, please confirm that you are listing under the correct artist category and/or under the correct letter. Click here for details on how to revise your item.

We have started a thread on the Movies & Memorabilia discussion board to provide more detail about the upcoming changes. To access the thread please click here.

Highlights include:

• “Manage My Store” will be more integrated with My eBay so you can manage your Store and your Store activity through a simple and easy-to-use layout.
• New summary pages will provide at-a-glance information on Stores activity. Summary pages will be grouped into overall Store usage, Store design and Store marketing.
• Stores announcements - The main “Manage My Store” page will contain an area where Stores sellers can learn about new Store features, events and information.

To preview the changes to “Manage Your Store”, click here.

To learn more about opening an eBay Store, click here.

• Mike Fox, Senior Marketing Manager with the eBay Developers Program, who will join us to talk about the program and the upcoming eBay Developers Conference.
• Chris Malta, contributing editor for eBay Radio, who will discuss physical product sourcing versus wholesalers and dropshippers.
• Maria Garcia, an organizational expert on spring cleaning. It's time to clean out your garage and get organized and Maria has tips on how to do it.
• And finally, eBetsy, who has “Around the world on eBay in 80 seconds". eBetsy will be visiting and "reporting" from each of our international sites from now until eBay Live. Learn more about the world wide eBay with eBetsy!

And of course we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: Your calls! Got a question, comment, or concern? Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

If you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

This promotion starts Tuesday, April 12, 2005, at 00:00:01 PDT (12 AM plus 1 second) and ends that same day, Tuesday, April 12, 2005, at 23:59:59 PDT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).

During the eBay Motors Parts and Accessories 50˘ Insertion Fee sale:

For regular auction-style and Fixed Price Parts and Accessories listings with a starting price above $9.99 on the U.S. Motors site (www.ebaymotors.com), the insertion fee will be capped at $0.50. All insertion fees less than $0.50 will still be charged at the normal rate. For more information about insertion fees during this promotion, please click here. Listings created prior to April 12, 2005 that are scheduled to start during the promotional period (April 12, 2005) will be eligible to receive the promotional rate. The promotional rate does not apply for eBay Motors vehicle listings.

All other fees (such as transaction services fees and all other optional listing upgrade fees) will still be charged. More information about upgrade fees can be found by clicking here. The promotional offer does not apply for listings with a start date prior to April 12, 2005, including those listings revised during the promotional period (April 12, 2005), or for listings created during the promotional period but scheduled to start after April 12, 2005.

We hope you enjoy the eBay Motors Parts & Accessories 50˘ Insertion Fee sale!

Enhanced Pictures
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, April 12th, from 13:00 PDT to 14:00 PDT. Please join eBay member and Education Specialist danzamovin to learn about picture hosting, the most common photography methods used, and the basic steps for adding an image to your listing. Other topics will include: basic guidelines for working with pictures, troubleshooting tips and clear definitions of terms you need to know, and how and when to use Gallery.

Researching
This workshop will be held on Thursday, April 14th, from 11:00 PDT to 12:00 PDT. Sellers who make money on eBay can often attribute it to one facet of their system: research. If you don't know what your competition is doing, which listings are successful, and which listing enhancements provide the most return for your listing dollar, it can be harder to sell successfully. Please join member and Education Specialist legend_sales_inc for this informative workshop. Topics of discussion will include how to research keywords, starting prices, descriptions, and selling formats.

The eBay & Country Living Remodeling Challenge Contest
This workshop will be held on Friday, April 15th, from 13:00 PDT to 14:00 PDT. Join us to learn more about how The eBay & Country Living Remodeling Challenge contest works and how you can enter. The contest consists of two phases. First, entrants submit a “before” picture of a room in their home and a 250 word essay describing how they would use items purchased on eBay.com, with a budget of $10,000, to remodel the room. Three finalists will be selected to move on to the second phase, where they are each given a cash allowance of up to $10,000 which they will use to shop on the eBay site and make their remodeling dreams a reality! The eBay Community will have the opportunity to review before and after pictures of the finalists’ rooms and vote to determine the Grand Prize Winner. For more information, please see our original announcement about the contest.

Workshops are hosted in discussion threads on the Workshops Board. To get to the Workshops Board:

• Click on Community at the top of almost any eBay page
• Click on "Discussion Boards" in the "Connect" Section
• Click on "Workshops" underneath the category-specific boards on the right-hand side of the page
• This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

To view archived workshops or to learn more about future workshop events, please check our Workshops Calendar.

Want timely reminders about workshops? Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. Each notification will include the time and date, a brief description of the event, and a link to the discussion thread where the actual workshop will be held.

To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Based on an essay of 250 words or less, a panel of expert judges will select three finalists to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime remodeling adventure. eBay will award the finalists up to $10,000* each to be used on eBay.com between May 26th and August 18th to make their remodeling dreams a reality. The finalists will then submit "after" photos of their remodeled room, which you, the eBay Community, will view to select one grand prize winner who will win $10,000 cash!

We will also be holding a workshop on Friday, April 15th from 13:00 - 14:00 PDT for you to learn more about how the contest works and how you can enter. Information about this workshop will be added to our Workshop Calendar shortly.

* "The eBay & Country Living Remodeling Challenge" ("Contest") begins at 12:00 AM PT April 7, 2005 and ends at 11:59 PM PT April 27, 2005. Contest is open to confirmed registered members of www.ebay.com who are legal residents of the United States and the District of Columbia, 18 years of age and older. Void in Colorado, Vermont, Puerto Rico and where prohibited by law. Three (3) finalists will each be awarded up to $10,000 in their PayPal account as follows: Initial $5,000 to be deposited into each finalist's PayPal account on or about May 26, 2005. An additional $5,000 will be deposited into each finalist's PayPal account on or about June 26, 2005 under the condition that the finalist has purchased at least one (1) item on eBay.com between May 26, 2005 and June 26, 2005 for the purpose of the remodeling project. Unused portions of the funds provided to the finalists must be returned to the Sponsor. Finalists must have a verified PayPal account on PayPal.com to receive any funds. For complete details and Official Rules go to http://www.ebay.com/remodelingchallenge.

Visit the Auto Insurance Center in eBay Motors to compare multiple quotes and start saving today. 

*Insurance not provided by eBay or its affiliated companies

About Me Page Discussion Board
A new discussion board has been created for our growing Community of members who use our About Me pages. About Me pages give you a space to tell others about yourself - use them to explain more about your business (such as your shipping policies or business philosophy), or simply to let people know more about you. Visit our About Me Page board to meet others who use About Me, and to exchange tips, tricks and design suggestions to help you create your own About Me page.

New Categories for eBay Groups
We’ve added five new categories for eBay Groups to make it easier for you to find others who share your interests:

• Under the Collectibles heading, Clothing/Fashion has been added.
• Under the Special Interest heading, we’ve added categories for Animals, Reenactors, Work-Related, and Fan Clubs.

To get to the Community area, click on the Community button at the top of almost any eBay page. This will take you to the Community Hub, where you can find helpful links and information, such as the Feedback Forum and the latest eBay news, to help you learn, connect and stay informed – for both business and for fun.

Members have told us they would like the choice whether to be shown close matches or not when they are searching for items by a particular seller. So, this week we’ll be adding an “opt-in” box when you use Items by Seller, so you can choose whether to be shown close matches. Everyone will be opted in initially, so simply uncheck the box if you no longer want to see close matches. This selection will be “sticky,” meaning that, once unchecked, it will stay unchecked every time you use Items by Seller until you turn the close matches back on.

• eMarketing guru Andy Jenkins, who will talk about promoting your ebay listings and eBay Store.
• John Bodine, eBay Product Marketing Manager, and Keith Wescourt, eBay Sr. Product Manager of the eBay Picture Manager feature.
• eBay Dispute Resolution expert Colin Rule, who will share buyer and seller tips on how to avoid transaction misunderstandings.
• And finally, eBetsy, who has “Around the world on eBay in 80 seconds". eBetsy will be visiting and "reporting" from each of our international sites from now until eBay Live. Learn more about the world wide eBay with eBetsy!

And of course we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: Your calls! Got a question, comment, or concern? Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

And if you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

The Try It Now Sale for first-time users of eBay's Online Postage Service will be available on the following sites:

• U.S. ( www.ebay.com )
• eBay Motors ( www.ebaymotors.com ), for non-vehicle listings only

During the Try It Now Sale :

First-time users of eBay's Online Postage Service who print three USPS® Priority or Express Mail shipping labels during the specified timeframe will get $1.00 back.  The Try It Now sale will begin Tuesday, April 5, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and continue through Saturday, April 9, 2005 until 23:59:59 (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). All auction-style and Fixed Price listings where eBay's Online Postage Service is used, including Store Inventory Format listings, will be eligible for this offer.

In order to qualify for the special offer, the eBay member must not have used eBay's Online Postage Service before, and must print their first three USPS® Priority or Express Mail shipping labels during the promotional period (April 5-9, 2005).

To receive your credit, you must first register for the promotion by clicking here.

Please note that the credits will not be immediately reflected on the site.  You will see credits posted to your seller's account by late May 2005. The promotional rate also does not apply to labels printed prior to the start of this promotion (April 5, 2005). 

Take advantage of this special offer to try eBay's Online Postage Service!

This month's edition features interesting and informative stories on a variety of topics, including:

• eBay Days at the Post Office shine the spotlight on shipping
• How well-written Terms of Service can reassure buyers
• How eBay’s Government Relations team is fighting Internet Auctioneering Regulation.

Also, our regular columnists write about a range of topics from building buyer loyalty to creating a great About Me page. You can find all this and much more in the April issue!

To get to The Chatter, follow these steps:

Click "Community" in the Navigation Bar at the top of most eBay pages. In the "News" box, click on the link for The Chatter.

You can also go directly to The Chatter by clicking here.

If you have a story suggestion for us, we encourage you to send us email at chatterstaff@ebay.com.

For other useful and interesting Community-related information, take a look at the Community Calendar.

Choose from one of the 2 courses below to get started selling or increase your sales on eBay.

Attend the Selling Basics course if you’re just getting started and learn about:

• Basic selling techniques
• How to create listings
• How to accept online payments with PayPal, and more.

Attend Beyond the Basics of Selling to take your sales to the next level and learn:

• Advanced selling techniques
• How to market your eBay listings
• What selling tools will save you time and increase sales, and more.

Register today and save $20!

Event Details
April 9, 2005
Sacramento Radission
500 Leisure Lane
Sacramento, CA 95815

This limited time offer will be automatically displayed, at no charge to sellers, on eBay items over $50 as long as sellers accept PayPal and have not opted out of displaying PayPal Buyer Credit messages on their listings. Click here for more information about this offer.

If you don't have PayPal Buyer Credit you can click here to start the application. To learn more about PayPal Buyer Credit, visit our buyer and seller information pages. 

* If you apply and are approved for PayPal Buyer Credit between 4/4/05 and 5/31/05 and make a PayPal purchase by 5/31/05 using PayPal Buyer Credit as your source of funds, a credit equal to 10% of your purchase price (maximum of $20) will appear on your July 2005 PayPal Buyer Credit statement for the first purchase only. Subject to credit approval. US residents only.

How Research Can Help You Create More Effective Listings
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, April 5th, from 13:00 PDT to 14:00 PDT. In this workshop, Greg Gunn from Certified Provider Terapeak will discuss how to put eBay market information to work for you. Learn how to accurately research what your items are worth, and discover advanced research techniques that will help you understand how well items are selling, what listing upgrades work best, and how to get more bids for your items.

Selling Basics
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, April 6th, from 15:30 PDT to 16:30 PDT. If you're ready to begin selling, this Selling Basics workshop is for you. eBay member and Education Specialist justcuriosities will cover how to research and select an item to sell, how to create and monitor the listing, and what to do after the auction has ended.

Trading Assistants - Selling Best Practices
This workshop will be held on Thursday, April 7th from 15:00 PDT to 16:00 PDT. Selling on eBay is both an art and a science! In this workshop, learn how to optimize and streamline your Trading Assistant sales process, from the initial listing of an item to the final shipping of your product.

Workshops are hosted in discussion threads on the Workshops Board. To get to the Workshops Board:

• Click on Community at the top of almost any eBay page
• Click on "Discussion Boards" in the "Connect" Section
• Click on "Workshops" underneath the category-specific boards on the right-hand side of the page
• This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

To view archived workshops or to learn more about future workshop events, please check our Workshops Calendar.

Want timely reminders about workshops? Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. Each notification will include the time and date, a brief description of the event, and a link to the discussion thread where the actual workshop will be held.

To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Phone support will be available Monday through Friday, from 6am to 6pm Pacific Time, and the toll-free number is listed in the Manage Your Store section of My eBay.

And as a reminder, all Stores sellers who have a paying eBay Store for the full month of April will receive a $15.95 credit (a month's Basic eBay Store subscription fee) in May as a "thank you" for your business.

We hope you enjoy the new phone support, and stay tuned for more to come.

Regards,

Chris Tsakalakis
Senior Director, eBay Stores

This will be in our new audio Town Hall format! Previous Town Halls have been text-based discussions in a live chat room. Now members will still use the text-based chat to ask questions, but you’ll be able to hear Bill answer questions from the Community using Windows Media Player. If you don’t already have this program installed on your computer, you can download it here for free.

To attend this Town Hall, or to send your questions to Bill in advance of the event, please visit the Town Hall page by clicking here.

We look forward to your participation!

Regards,
eBay Community Development Team

• Erik Rannala, Senior Manager of Product Marketing (eBay North America), who will talk about the new Best Offer feature.
• eBay Radio regular and contributing editor Jason Miner, with The PayPal Hour.
• eBetsy, who will bring us “Around the world on eBay in 80 seconds". eBetsy will be visiting and "reporting" from each of our international sites from now until eBay Live. Learn more about the worldwide eBay with eBetsy!

And of course we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: Your calls! Got a question, comment, or concern? Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

If you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

This promotion starts Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12 AM plus 1 second) and ends that same day, Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).

During the eBay Motors Parts and Accessories 50˘ Insertion Fee sale:

For regular auction-style and Fixed Price Parts and Accessories listings with a starting price above $9.99 on the U.S. Motors site (www.ebaymotors.com), the insertion fee will be capped at $0.50. All insertion fees less than $0.50 will still be charged at the normal rate. For more information about insertion fees during this promotion, please click here. Listings created prior to March 29, 2005 that are scheduled to start during the promotional period (March 29, 2005) will be eligible to receive the promotional rate. The promotional rate does not apply for eBay Motors vehicle listings.

All other fees (such as transaction services fees and all other optional listing upgrade fees) will still be charged. More information about upgrade fees can be found by clicking here. The promotional offer does not apply for listings with a start date prior to March 29, 2005, including those listings revised during the promotional period (March 29, 2005), or for listings created during the promotional period but scheduled to start after March 29, 2005.

We hope you enjoy the eBay Motors Parts & Accessories 50˘ Insertion Fee sale!

To send email in bulk:
Go to the Sold Listings view, check the box next to the listings for which you want to send a bulk email, and click the Email button.

To print invoices and shipping labels in bulk:
Go to the Sold Listings view, check the box next to the listings for which you want to print invoices or shipping labels, and click the Print button. You can print as many as 500 invoices or labels at one time.

Other existing bulk features that help make Selling Manager an efficient selling tool include the ability to re-list items in bulk and the ability to leave feedback in bulk.

To learn more about Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro, please click here.

• US (www.ebay.com)
• Canada (www.ebay.ca)
• eBay Motors (www.ebaymotors.com)

The promotion will start Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and end on Thursday, March 31, 2005 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).

During the Picture Manager two-week free trial:

First-time Picture Manager subscribers who sign up between March 29-31, 2005 will receive the first 14 days of their Picture Manager subscription for free. Take advantage of this promotion and try Picture Manager for your picture-hosting needs! Fully integrated with the Sell Your Item form, Selling Manager Pro, and now Turbo Lister, Picture Manager is the easiest way to manage, organize and upload your pictures into listings. For full details on this promotion, please click here.

We hope you enjoy the Picture Manager two-week free trial!

Improvements include:

• Searching by distance – This new feature allows you to search for items within 500, 750, 1000, 1500, and 2000 miles of your ZIP code. Additionally, you can also search for items near a popular city.
• Searching within Motors categories – Expanded search options within the "By eBay Motors Categories" search allows you to search directly within the Passenger Vehicles, Parts & Accessories, Motorcycles, and Powersports categories. You can search on different characteristics including make, model, and year range, and can also refine your search based on other category-specific options such as engine size for Motorcycles.
• Searching for multiple-item listings – A new multiple-item quantity search allows you to search for multiple-quantity listings and also to search for "lots."
• Searching for items from particular sellers – You can now search for items from specific sellers, or to exclude those sellers' items from your searches.

Of course, you'll still be able to search for completed listings, as well as completed listings from Stores. You can also find member information more easily.

To try the new eBay Motors advanced search feature, please click here.

eBay Shipping Tips and Tools
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 29th, from 10:00 PST to 11:00 PST. Learn how to make selling easier with eBay’s Shipping Tools, including label printing through PayPal. eBay's Shipping Team will discuss how you can use eBay’s Shipping Tools to save time on shipping and increase your sales, and will be available to answer your shipping questions.

Importance of Branding and Identity for eBay Sellers
This workshop will be held on Thursday, March 31st from 13:00 to 14:00 PST. In this workshop, Debbie Levitt, President of Certified Service Provider AsWas, will discuss the importance of establishing and strengthening your brand and identity. You’ll learn what builds your brand name on eBay and what factors to consider when marketing yourself.

Workshops are hosted in discussion threads on the Workshops Board. To get to the Workshops Board:

• Go to www.ebay.com
• Click on Community at the top of the page
• Click on "Workshops" in the "Events" section
• This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

To view archived workshops or to learn more about future workshop events, please check our Workshops Calendar.

Want timely reminders about workshops? Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. Each notification will include the time and date, a brief description of the event, and a link to the discussion thread where the actual workshop will be held.

To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Hi...I’m Simon Rothman, Vice President of eBay Motors. Many of our vehicle buyers have told us they want more pictures on listings of cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, and other vehicles. Each additional picture gives the buyer a better understanding of the vehicle's condition – and more pictures usually result in more sales success for the seller. Our own research supports this benefit for both the buyer and seller.

Based on this information, starting this week we are increasing the number of pictures for eBay Motors vehicle listings that sellers can add with eBay's Picture Services from 12 to 24. Individual picture prices remain at $0.15 each.

We're also pleased to let you know that Vehicle Picture Pack, which includes Supersize and Picture Show (a $1.75 value), will also be increased to 24 pictures – and the price will remain at $2.00. This means that you get up to $5.20 worth of value on this feature for only $2.00.

My team and I hope that this improved picture capability and the Vehicle Picture Pack feature helps sellers in the vehicles categories sell more autos in a cost-effective way.

Regards,

Simon Rothman
Vice President, eBay Motors

To learn more about the PayPal Preferred Rewards Program, please click here.

We also encourage you to visit the Clothing, Shoes and Accessories discussion board to meet other members who share your interests. You can get to the board by:

• Clicking on Community at the top of almost any eBay page;
• Clicking on Discussion Boards in the Connect section;
• Clicking on “Clothing, Shoes and Accessories”, which can be found in the Category-Specific Discussion Boards list on the right-hand side.

Enhancements for Selling Manager Pro only include:

• PayPal fees included in Selling Manager Pro reporting – Subscribers will see PayPal fees included in their Condensed and Expanded Reports. Previously, users had to visit both the PayPal and eBay sites to find out their total costs. Additionally, all listing fees and other charges will be consolidated under "eBay fees" in the Condensed version of the report.

Enhancements for both Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro include:

• Sales discounts and charges visible in Sales Record – Subscribers will see any sales discounts or charges that a buyer entered during Checkout. Previously, subscribers could not see whether a buyer had applied a discount or extra charge during Checkout.
• Ability to see Unpaid Items for a multi-item order from a specific buyer – Until now, subscribers attempting to issue an Unpaid Item reminder for an order with multiple items would see a view with a list of all their orders eligible for Unpaid Items. Sellers will now see a list of just the items eligible for Unpaid Item reminders from that specific order.

• Circuit Breakers – a subcategory of the Business & Industrial > Industrial Electrical & Test > Circuit Breakers, Transformers category
• Mills, Milling-Type Machines – a subcategory of the Business & Industrial > Manufacturing & Metalworking > Metalworking Equipment category

For sellers, Item Specifics help make it easier to present a clean, well-organized description that clearly articulates important details that buyers want to see. Using Item Specifics is free and optional. For buyers, Item Specifics improves the ability to find the right item for a given application, and buyers will also be able to search for items using Item Specifics a few weeks later.

Item Specifics will be available for sellers who list items through the Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister, Seller Assistant, Seller Assistant Pro, or Selling Manager Pro. This may require downloading an update for these eBay seller tools (except Selling Manager Pro). If you utilize a third party listing service (for example, Andale, Marketworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will offer the Item Specifics functionality in the above categories.

We have started a thread on the Business & Industrial discussion board to provide more detail about the upcoming changes. To access the thread please click here.

For more information about Item Specifics, please refer to the following:

• Item Specifics Frequently Asked Questions
• Item Specifics Overview
• Item Specifics Product Finder
• Item Specifics Item Page Example
• Item Specifics As a Promotional Tool

If you have any comments or feedback about Item Specifics, please email them to business@ebay.com and they will be considered for future enhancements.

To try this new feature, simply select a listing upgrade while in the Sell Your Item form and watch your listing change in the Preview Window. For example, if you select Highlight, the Preview Window will show you what your listing would look like with Highlight added. Also, we will be adding Subtitle in the next few days, so you will be able to type a few words in the Subtitle field and see how this additional information would be viewed by buyers looking at your listing.

When you are happy with the appearance of your listing in the Preview Window, complete the rest of the page in SYI and select “Continue” at the bottom of the page. This will add your selected listing upgrades to your final listing.

If an ended item is eligible for a Second Chance Offer (for example, if there is a high bidder and also a non-winning bidder on your item), a reminder will appear in My eBay. Click the reminder link to see your items eligible for Second Chance Offers in My eBay.

To learn more about Second Chance Offers, please click here.

For all sellers:

• Set up automatic cross-promotion rules based on eBay categories. For example, you can specify that when a buyer bids on or wins one of your items in the Men’s Shoes category, your items in the Men’s Belts category will be displayed. This is already available for Store Custom Categories.

• Selecting items for cross-promotions will be easier. You can still preview the items that will be promoted, and if you choose to change those items, you will now be able to select all the replacements at once, instead of one at a time.

• Coming in early April, cross-promoted items will display on all relevant closed item pages. This is already available to eBay Store sellers.

For eBay Stores sellers:

• Add rules based on keywords. For example, when buyers view your items in the Pants category with the keyword “brown” in the title, you can promote your items in the Shirts category with the keyword “blue” in the title.

• Promote more items on your listing pages. Now up to twelve items can be displayed in a new scrolling box!

To learn more about cross-promotions, please see our Cross-Promotions Overview.

Clarifying available actions on the item page
We’ll be simplifying the status area at the top of the closed item page to show the seller’s relevant cross-promoted items, as well as any available actions that the buyer or seller can take. This will help make it clearer for buyers, non-winning bidders, and sellers what to do after a listing closes.

Example: On the item page a buyer will see calls to action such as “Request Total,” “Mark Payment as Sent,” “View Seller’s Other Items,” etc. (Preview the new closed item page and compare it with the current closed item page.)

Updating actions automatically across all relevant pages
When a member takes an action on one page, it will automatically be reflected on all other relevant pages on eBay, such as the item page, Bid History, My eBay, Checkout, etc.

Example: If a buyer marks an item as having been paid in My eBay, the seller’s My eBay will automatically display a “pending” status for that item. (For more details on how the “Mark as Paid” action will work for both buyers and sellers, please see our thread on the My eBay discussion board with FAQs by clicking here.)

Displaying links only for available actions
Links will now display only if the action is available for the transaction. In My eBay, the menu of actions next to most items will be made more visible with the addition of a yellow bubble. (To remove the bubble, click on the “Don’t show me this again” link.)

Example: The Leave Feedback link will only appear to the buyer on the closed item page until the buyer has left feedback for the item.

We hope that these changes will help guide members better through the post-listing process, facilitate easier transactions, and improve communication between buyers and sellers.

• PowerSeller Kara Gordon, who will share tips for successful eBay selling.
• Garrett Sutton, attorney and author, with tips for selecting and managing your business structure.
• eBetsy, who'll bring us “Around the world on eBay in 80 seconds". eBetsy will be visiting and "reporting" from each of our international sites from now until eBay Live. Learn more about the world wide eBay with eBetsy!

Of course we'll also have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: Your calls! Got a question, comment, or concern? Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

If you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

• U.S. (www.ebay.com)
• Canada (www.ebay.ca). For more information about this promotion on eBay Canada, click here.
• eBay Motors (www.ebaymotors.com), for non-vehicle listings only.

The promotion will start Tuesday, March 22, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and end on Wednesday, March 23, 2005 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to March 22, 2005 and scheduled to start during the promotional period (March 22–23, 2005) will be eligible for the promotional rate. Take advantage of this promotion to add Subtitle to all your listings so you can tell buyers more about your items!

During the 1˘ Subtitle Promotion:

For Auction-style, Fixed Price, Real Estate, Ad Format (for those that will run for less than or equal to 30 days), and Motors non-vehicles listings, the fee for Subtitle will be 1˘. This promotion will not apply to the following types of listings: eBay Motors vehicles, International, Live Auction, Professional Services, and Stores Inventory listings.

All other fees (including Insertion Fees, Final Value Fees and all other optional listing upgrade fees, such as Bold, Border, Buy It Now, Highlight, Gallery Featured, Featured Plus!, Listing Designer, Gift Services, Reserve, extended duration insertion fees, etc.) will still be charged. The promotional rate does not apply to listings which start prior to March 22, 2005 or those listings which are revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate also does not apply to listings created during the promotional period that are scheduled to start after the promotion ends on March 23, 2005.

For a complete list of features in this release, view the release notes posted on the Turbo Lister Discussion Board.

To download Turbo Lister for the first time, or general information about Turbo Lister, please click here.

Enter your nomination through April 22, 2005 for one or both of these prestigious awards. For more information about the eBay Developers Program, go to developer.ebay.com.

A few months ago, we introduced a feature called Buyer Requirements, which can be used by sellers who want even more control over who bids on their items. I'm happy to announce the latest enhancements to Buyer Requirements.

We've made it possible for sellers to select the number of their items that a particular buyer can bid on in a 10-day period. The seller will also be asked to specify the Feedback level of the buyers on whom they want to impose this item limit.

For example, a seller might choose to limit buyers with a feedback score of less than 5 to be the high bidder on their auction-style listings. Another seller (for example, a car seller) may not want any buyer to purchase more than one item in 10 days regardless of the buyer's feedback. As with all Buyer Requirements, the seller can remove the block for a buyer by adding the buyer to the seller's buyer block exemption list. Buyer Requirements help prevent irresponsible bidding, but please do be aware that it may limit the number of bidders on your listing.

As a refresher, Buyer Requirements also enable sellers to block buyers who:

• don't have a PayPal account (PayPal account holders have an 80% lower unpaid item rate);
• are registered in countries to which the seller has designated he/she will not ship;
• have a net negative feedback score (for example, -1 or lower);
• have received two Unpaid Item strikes in the previous 30 days.

Sellers can set their Buyer Requirements by clicking on Preferences in My eBay and scrolling to the bottom.

We have done a lot over the past year to help reduce unpaid items in the marketplace, as well as make them easier to deal with when they do occur. Last July we introduced the new Unpaid Item Process and in November eBay began setting Buyer Activity Limits in order to better ensure responsible bidding in the marketplace. We also overhauled the Bid/BIN confirmation page in November to clarify the commitment point and highlight shipping costs and payment methods the seller accepts. We will continue to focus our efforts in this area.

Join us for an Unpaid Item Workshop
My team and I will also host an online Community workshop on Wednesday, March 23rd at 14:00 PT to answer your questions about Buyer Requirements and Unpaid Items. During the workshop we'll also offer tips for sellers that will help them minimize Unpaid Items in their businesses.

I hope to see you there!

Regards,

Matt Halprin
Sr. Director, eBay Global Marketplace Policies

To address this issue, in the next few days we'll be improving the invoicing process. When a seller creates an invoice for a buyer, they will now have the choice to automatically include items from a previous invoice (if applicable). And if the seller would like to send separate invoices, they will still be able to do so.

This download is quick and safe, and will enable you to view and edit your pictures in eBay Enhanced Picture Services more easily and efficiently.

We have posted more information about the update and installation process on the Photos/HTML discussion board. To read this thread, please click here.

Sales Reports Plus
This workshop will be held on Monday, March 21st, from 15:00 PST to 16:00 PST. Come learn about the new enhancements in Sales Reports Plus and join other sellers in discussing how you can make the best use of your reports. Sellers are encouraged to review their monthly and weekly reports and come with questions!

Searching & Browsing
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 22nd, from 11:00 to 12:00 PST. With over 10,000,000 items for sale on eBay at any given time, how do you find what you want? Or what if you need a gift for someone, but you aren't even sure what you want to buy? eBay's easy-to-use search engine will help you locate just the right item(s). Please join hunter-gatherer, an eBay member and Education Specialist, for a look at how to search or browse for items on eBay -- you'll be surprised at how easy it is.

Minimize Unpaid Items with Buyer Requirements
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 23rd, from 14:00 PST to 15:00 PST. The Buyer Requirements feature enables sellers to have more control over who can bid on their listings, minimizing post transaction issues and Unpaid Items. Join us for a workshop to review enhancements to Buyer Requirements and to answer your questions about minimizing Unpaid Items.

Bidding and Buying
This workshop will be held on Thursday, March 24th from 11:00 PST to 12:00 PST. You've found something you want on eBay, but did you know there is more to consider than the price? Please join hunter-gatherer, an eBay member and Education Specialist, to learn how to determine the total cost of the item (bid, shipping and handling fees), how to contact the seller with a question, and how to check the seller's feedback. The workshop will also include an overview of the various auction formats.

Workshops are hosted in discussion threads on the Workshops Board. To get to the Workshops Board:

• Go to www.ebay.com
• Click on Community at the top of the page
• Click on "Workshops" in the "Events" section
• This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

To view archived workshops or to learn more about future workshop events, please check our Workshops Calendar.

Want timely reminders about workshops? Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. Each notification will include the time and date, a brief description of the event, and a link to the discussion thread where the actual workshop will be held.

To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The promotion starts on Thursday, March 17, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ends that same day, Thursday, March 17, 2005 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings which were created prior to March 17, 2005 and scheduled to start during the promotional period will also be eligible for the special promotional rate. For more information about this offer, please click here.

During the 50% Off Fixed Price and Free Buy It Now Upgrade for Auction-Style Listings Sale:

• For Fixed Price format listings, the insertion fee will be 50% off. For more information about this promotional pricing, please click here.
• For auction-style listings the Buy It Now upgrade will be free.

The 50% off Fixed Price and Free Buy It Now Upgrade sale will not apply to eBay Motors vehicles and non-vehicles, International, Live Auction, Professional Services, Real Estate, Ad Format, and Store Inventory listings. Also certain Business & Industrial categories are excluded from this promotion. Please visit the promotional page for more details.

All other fees (including Final Value Fees and optional listing upgrade fees such as Border, Bold, Highlight, Gallery, Gallery Featured, Featured Plus!, Listing Designer, Subtitle, Reserve, Extended Duration insertion fees, etc.) will still be charged. The promotional rate does not apply to listings with a start date prior to March 17, 2005, including those listings revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate also does not apply to listings created during the promotional period (March 17, 2005) that are scheduled to start after the promotion ends.

We hope you enjoy the special one-day 50% Off Fixed Price and Free Buy It Now Upgrade Sale!

We appreciate your input on how we can make categories better for everyone. You may submit categories suggestions here.

Thanks again to all our members who contribute to these trade-enhancing changes!

For Atlanta, choose from either the Selling Basics or Beyond the Basics of Selling course to get started selling or increase your sales. For Louisville, we're offering both of these, plus an extra eBay for Business course designed for members who want to turn their operation into a business entity.

Choose the Selling Basics course if you’re just getting started and learn about:

• Basic selling techniques
• How to create listings
• How to accept online payments with PayPal, and more.

Attend Beyond the Basics of Selling to take your sales to the next level and learn:

• Advanced selling techniques
• How to market your eBay listings
• Which selling tools will save you time and increase sales, and more.

Select eBay for Business, presented by Entrepreneur magazine, if you want to turn your eBay operation into a business entity. This new addition to the eBay University curriculum will discuss:

• Tax issues that can affect your business
• Operations and inventory management
• E-Commerce and internet marketing trends that will impact your sales on eBay
• How to find new sources of inventory, and much more.

Classroom space is limited, so register today!

• Chris Spencer, Powerseller and eBay University instructor, who will share tips for buyers.
• Robert Burnback, co-author of "eBay Photos That Sell: Taking Great Product Shots for eBay and Beyond", who will have photo tips.
• Leroy of Leroy's Aukshuns (User ID: three*angels), with insights into using humor in listing descriptions.
• Plus, eBetsy will be here for “Around the world on eBay in 80 seconds". eBetsy will be visiting and "reporting" from each of our international sites from now until eBay Live. Learn more about the world wide eBay with eBetsy!

And of course we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: Your calls! Got a question, comment, or concern? Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

If you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

Fidelity offers a wide range of investment products and services, including retirement, brokerage and college savings. eBay members receive Fidelity’s traditional low pricing, financial consultations and special offers such as reduced pricing on trades, free trades, a free backpack, and $100 account opening offers when you open and fund eligible accounts. eBay members also have access to specialized phone, web and IM support from Fidelity.

Click here to find out more.

Please join us for a Board-Side Chat on the Jewelry & Watches discussion board on Wednesday, March 16th at 11:00 PST. The Jewelry team will answer questions live about the new Jewelry Policies.

If you can't make it this Wednesday, the Jewelry team will also be available on:

• Wednesday, March 23 at 12:00 PST
• Wednesday, March 30 at 13:00 PST

To attend the Board-Side chat this Wednesday, please join us on the Jewelry & Watches discussion board.

What Are Search Expansions?
Many buyers who aren’t as familiar with searching on eBay will often type in a general description of what they are looking for into the search box (for instance, action figure). When this happens, the results they get are often only a portion of the relevant listings, because many of them will not have action figure in the title.

With search expansions, when someone uses the search box to find a particular type of item, we’ll display those listings that have the keyword in the title as usual, but we’ll also show all items in a relevant category that we’ve mapped to the keyword. So, for instance, in our example the search results would show all items with action figure in the title, as well as all items in the Action Figures category. Or, if the buyer types in Superman action figure, we’ll show all listings with Superman action figure in the title, as well as all listings with Superman in the title that are in the Action Figures category.

If you don’t want to have the expanded results shown, simply use quotation marks around any single keyword in your search terms (for example: “Superman” action figure). To let us know your thoughts on these changes, please join us on the Search Board by clicking here.

Sellers will now be able to list Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP systems and accessories. In addition, buyers will now be able to use Item Specifics to search for Sony PSP accessories and games, and Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP accessories and systems. The planned changes will both update current values for Pre-Filled Item Information, as well as add new ones, to reflect recent changes in product information.

Sellers who use Pre-filled Item Information when relisting or revising items in these categories may receive the following message that their original Item Specifics and/or Pre-filled Item Information have changed: The Pre-Filled Item Information for this item has been updated with the latest information. Please review the changes. We encourage sellers who receive this message to double-check their listing for accuracy before completing the listing.

If you have any comments or feedback about Item Specifics in these categories, please email them to Videogames_cm@ebay.com and they will be considered for future enhancements.

Greg Fant

Hi, my name is Greg Fant and I am the Vice President of eBay's Technology and Industrial Categories. My team and I are proud to bring you an update to our Rethink Initiative.

Earlier this year, we launched Rethink to help address the growing challenge of how to dispose of electronic waste (also known as e-waste), one of the most significant problems facing our environment today. At the site we created, www.ebay.com/rethink, we've brought together industry, government, charitable, and environmental organizations to make it easy for you to sell, donate or recycle unwanted electronics.

At first, Rethink highlighted solutions to help people address e-waste from computers. However, idle cell phones and other wireless devices present the same issue. According to a recent survey we helped conduct, of the 56% of American households that have unused working electronics, 25% have a working cell phone that is out of use!  This is why it's important for us to expand the program to help people sell, recycle or donate cell phones.

We would like you to visit the Rethink site and learn how to sell, donate or recycle your old cell phones plus computers. You'll find various services and tools, such as one from ReCellular that helps you permanently delete data from your cell phone before you sell or donate it.

Groups that have joined Rethink include:

• Collective Good Foundation
• CTIA:  The Wireless Association
• The Wireless Foundation
• Motorola
• Nokia
• Verizon Wireless
• March of Dimes

Thank you for doing your part to help tackle the problem of e-waste!

Regards,
Greg Fant

Welcome to eBay – An Introduction
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 15th, from 11:00 PST to 12:00 PST. eBay is a wonderful place to shop, but before you start, take time to familiarize yourself with the site. We'll give you an overview of eBay’s Home Page, Site Map, Discussion Boards, and Learning Center, and tips on where to find help from eBay and other eBay members.

How To Drive Your Own Repeat eBay Sales
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 16th, from 13:00 to 14:00 PST. In this workshop, Brian Lawe, President of Certified Solution Provider MyStoreCredit.com, will discuss the importance of repeat sales in growing your business. You’ll also learn ways to bring your buyers back to buy from you again and again.

Getting Started: You’re Ready to Shop - Now What?
This workshop will be held on Thursday, March 17th, from 11:00 PST to 12:00 PST. Anyone can visit eBay and go "window shopping", but before you can actually buy something you need to register. Please join member hunter-gatherer to find out how to register with eBay and PayPal. We’ll also look at eBay’s Feedback system and how to track your eBay activity in My eBay.

Workshops are hosted in discussion threads on the Workshops Board. To get to the Workshops Board:

• Go to www.ebay.com
• Click on Community at the top of the page
• Click on "Workshops" in the "Events" section
• This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

To view archived workshops or to learn more about future workshop events, please check our Workshops Calendar.

Want timely reminders about workshops? Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. Each notification will include the time and date, a brief description of the event, and a link to the discussion thread where the actual workshop will be held.

To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

In January, we began the “One of a Kind Scrapbook Design” contest. The five finalists have created their books using items purchased on eBay with a budget of $750. And now it’s up to you – the eBay Community – to decide the winner! The themes for the five scrapbooks are:

• Hold 'Em, Fold 'Em
• The Money Pit
• Disney Through the Years
• Sacrifice
• Life's Lessons

The finalist with the most votes will win the Grand Prize: a three-day/ two-night trip to Las Vegas for the Memories Expo Nevada, where they will show off their “One of a Kind” scrapbook!

Go to www.ebay.com/vote through March 13, 2005 to see the amazing scrapbooks, to review the judging criteria and to cast your vote.

* Voting Period ends at 11:59 PM PT on March 13, 2005. Only confirmed registered members of the eBay site may vote for the best one of a kind scrapbook. Voting is limited to one (1) vote per eligible registered eBay user. See official rules for complete details.

For a complete list of features in this release, view the beta version release notes posted on the Turbo Lister Beta discussion board.

To get the beta version of Turbo Lister Version 3.0.0.2, you must first join the Turbo Lister Beta Program. To join the program, please take the following steps within Turbo Lister:

1. Go to the "Tools" menu
2. Select "Options"
3. Select "Advanced Options"
4. Click the "Join Beta Program" button.

To download Turbo Lister for the first time, or general information about Turbo Lister, please click here.

• Curtains, Drapes - within Window Treatments
• Towels, Washcloths - within Bath
• Floral Décor - within Home Décor

Item Specifics is an eBay feature that makes it easier for sellers to provide additional item details and a clear, well-organized description during the selling process. Buyers can then search using these item details, in addition to regular Title search and Description Search, thus finding these items more quickly and easily.

Now Home & Garden sellers in these three categories will soon be able to distinguish their offerings by details such as Material, Size, Color, and Shape. Sellers can choose to include Item Specifics in their listing or not, and buyers can choose whether or not to search for these details. However, we believe the feature provides significant value to both buyers and sellers. Sellers will be able to list using Item Specifics in mid-to-late March. The ability to search by Item Specifics will be available a few weeks afterwards.

If you list items manually through an eBay seller tool (e.g. Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister) or the eBay API, Item Specifics will be available in the next few weeks. If you utilize a 3rd party listing service (e.g., Andale, Auctionworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will offer the Item Specifics functionality in the Home & Garden category.

For more information about Item Specifics in general, please refer to our FAQs:

Item Specifics FAQ
Item Specifics Overview
Item Specifics Product Finder
Item Specifics Item Page Example
Item Specifics As a Promotional Tool

For more information about detailed Item Specifics in these categories, please refer to our Discussion Board post here.

If you have any comments or feedback about Item Specifics in these categories, please email them to homecategories@ebay.com with Item Specifics in the header and they will be considered for future enhancements.

In addition, subscribers of Sales Reports Plus will also be able to:

• Analyze sales by format (for example, auction-style listings, fixed price listings, etc.) in each of the leaf-level categories they sell in.
• Compare sales by ending day and time for fixed price and Store Inventory format listings (in addition to auction-style listings).
• Customize reports by displaying full category names, and by hiding or displaying specific metrics they want to see.

For more details and a complete list of features in this release, please view the release notes posted on the Sales Reports discussion board.

For general information about Sales Reports, please click here.

If you’re already a subscriber of Sales Reports Plus, you can start using the new version by going to My eBay and clicking on the Sales Reports link.

The 50% Off Sale is available on the following eBay sites:

• U.S. (www.ebay.com)
• Canada (www.ebay.ca). For more information about the promotion on eBay Canada, click here.
• eBay Motors (www.ebaymotors.com), for non-vehicles listings.

The 50% Off Listing Upgrades Sale starts on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ends at 23:59:59 PT on Thursday, March 10, 2005 (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to March 9, 2005 that are scheduled to start during the promotional period (March 9–10, 2005) will be eligible for the promotional rate. It’s a great time to add selling features to showcase your listings and attract even more buyers!

During the 50% Off Listing Upgrades Sale:

For auction-style, Fixed Price, Real Estate, Ad Format (those that will run for less than or equal to 30 days), and Motors non-vehicle listings, the fee for Homepage Featured (Single and Multi quantity listings), Featured Plus!, Border, and Subtitle will be 50% off. This promotion will not apply to the following types of listings: Motors vehicles, International, Live Auction, Professional Services, and Store Inventory listings.

All other fees (including Insertion Fees, Final Value Fees and all other optional listing upgrade fees, such as Bold, Highlight, Buy It Now, Gallery, Gallery Featured, Listing Designer, Gift Services, Reserve, Picture Show and Extended Duration insertion fees, etc.) will still be charged. The promotional rate does not apply to listings with a start date prior to March 9, 2005, including those listings revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate also does not apply to listings created during the promotional period (March 9–10, 2005) that are scheduled to start after March 10, 2005.

We hope you enjoy the 50% Off Listing Upgrades Sale!

At eBay University, you'll learn:

• Basic selling techniques
• How to create effective listings to attract buyers
• How to set pricing
• How to accept online payments with PayPal
• How to safely pack and ship, and much more!

Register today for only $69 and bring a friend for $10! Simply enter the following code: COMMUNITY.

Event Details:
9:00am – 3:30pm
Hilton Pikesville
1726 Reisterstown Road
Baltimore, MD 21208

Kijiji is now available in more than 50 cities in Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan. From building friendships and trading large appliances to talking about the city’s best restaurants or looking for a babysitter, Kijiji is designed to help people connect.

• Chris Malta, eBay Radio Contributing Editor, and Janelle Elms, eBay PowerSeller and eBay University instructor. They will discuss the ins and outs of product sourcing.
• Barbara Weltman, an attorney and small business expert who authored J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes 2005. Barbara will be sharing tips for eBay sellers on preparing their taxes.
• Colin Rule, eBay's Dispute Resolution Specialist, who will share tips on email and phone ettiquette for all eBay members.
• eBetsy, with “Around the world on eBay in 80 seconds". eBetsy will be visiting and "reporting" from each of our international sites from now until eBay Live. Learn more about the world wide eBay with eBetsy!

And of course we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: Your calls! Got a question, comment, or concern? Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

And if you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

You'll soon be able to forward a particular search, category, Store, or Seller’s Other Item page quickly and easily to your friends. You can also send links to the eBay Pulse, eBay’s daily snapshot of what’s popular around the site, or send links from within My eBay for your:

• Favorite sellers
• Favorite searches or categories
• Watched items.

To access this feature, click the “Email” links you will find throughout the site and you'll be directed to a short email request form. Provide the recipient’s information and a personal message if desired, and then click to send the email to your friend!

First, sellers will be able to provide their own look and feel for Checkout pages and Checkout invoice emails sent to buyers.

• All sellers: You will be able to upload a custom logo into your preferences that will be shown to buyers on the Review Your Purchase page and all subsequent pages in Checkout (excluding PayPal pages).
• Store sellers: Show a custom message if you would like in addition to your logo. For example - you can use this message to provide a description of your business.

Second, we will be addressing a limitation for those sellers who collect sales tax. Currently, you can only specify sales tax for one state per listing, which is an issue for sellers operating out of multiple states. In a few days, you will be able to specify tax for multiple states if you need to.

• Oscilloscopes – a subcategory of the Business & Industrial > Industrial Electrical & Test > Test Equipment category.
• Wood Chippers, Stump Grinders – a subcategory of the Business & Industrial > Construction > Heavy Equipment, Trailers category
• Cranes – a subcategory of the Business & Industrial > Construction > Heavy Equipment, Trailers category
• Compactors, Rollers - Riding – a subcategory of the Business & Industrial > Construction > Heavy Equipment, Trailers category

For sellers, Item Specifics help make it easier to present a clean, well-organized description that clearly articulates important details that buyers want to see. Using Item Specifics is free and optional. Buyers will also be able to search for items using Item Specifics a few weeks later.

Item Specifics will be available for sellers who list items through the Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister, Seller Assistant, Seller Assistant Pro, or Selling Manager Pro. This may require downloading an update for these eBay seller tools (except Selling Manager Pro). If you utilize a third party listing service (for example, Andale, Marketworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will offer the Item Specifics functionality in the above categories:

We have started a thread on the Business & Industrial discussion board to provide more detail about the upcoming changes. To access the thread please click here.

For more information about Item Specifics, please refer to the following:

• Item Specifics Frequently Asked Questions
• Item Specifics Overview
• Item Specifics Product Finder
• Item Specifics Item Page Example
• Item Specifics As a Promotional Tool

If you have any comments or feedback about Item Specifics, please email them to business@ebay.com and they will be considered for future enhancements.

Driving Sales Using eBay Keywords
This workshop will be held on Monday, March 7th, from 17:00 PST to 18:00 PST. In this Keywords workshop, we will review 10 important strategies for using eBay Keywords, and will profile a few case studies as well.

7 Things You Need to Know About Retirement Investing
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 8th, from 14:00 to 15:00 PST. Have you ever wondered if you’ll have enough money saved when you’re ready to retire? During this seminar, Fidelity retirement professional Anthony Luciano will talk about ways to help maximize your retirement savings. Topics that Anthony will cover include: 1) why it's important to save, 2) how to choose a retirement account, 3) which account may be right for you, and 4) contribution limits & deadlines. During the online discussion, Anthony will also share ideas on how to choose investments for your IRA account and how easy it is to get started today.

How to Find Real Product Wholesalers
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 9th, from 14:00 PST to 15:00 PST. In this workshop, Chris Malta from Certified Service Provider Worldwide Brands will discuss wholesale product sourcing, including how to find and qualify wholesale suppliers.

Using eBay Market Data to Discover New Product Ideas
This workshop will be held on Thursday, March 10th, from 13:00 to 14:00 PST. Chris Smith from Certified Provider Terapeak will be hosting this workshop on how to use eBay market data to find out what is selling on the site. The objective of this workshop is to empower you to find products that are in demand and profitable. Terapeak will show you how you can use market information to understand the demand and supply of goods on eBay, uncover growth categories and make smarter inventory and sourcing decisions.

Workshops are hosted in discussion threads on the Workshops Board. To get to the Workshops Board:

• Go to www.ebay.com
• Click on Community at the top of the page
• Click on "Workshops" in the "Events" section
• This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

To view archived workshops or to learn more about future workshop events, please check our Workshops Calendar.

Want timely reminders about workshops? Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. Each notification will include the time and date, a brief description of the event, and a link to the discussion thread where the actual workshop will be held.

To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Hi…This is Susan Phillips, and my team and I are really excited for this year's annual eBay Live! Community Conference happening in San Jose, CA from June 23rd through the 25th. Event registration opens today, and we hope you can attend.

Every year eBay Live! is a memorable event – but this year's conference will mark eBay's 10th anniversary. We hope you'll come and help us celebrate the Power of All of Us.

So what will you find at eBay Live!? As any member who has attended a previous event with us can tell you, eBay Live! is the ultimate networking opportunity. You'll meet many eBay and PayPal staff and executives, educational consultants, and exhibitors. Most importantly, you'll get the opportunity to meet thousands of other eBay sellers and buyers from around the country – and the world. The opportunities to build new relationships – and strengthen existing bonds – with other eBay members are truly unique.

Our goal is to give attendees unprecedented education opportunities – and to make sure you have fun, too! The conference will be packed with seminars, computer labs, and discussions, and you can customize your schedule when you register to best fit your personal goals. Everyone from the newest beginner to the most advanced member can take away helpful information that will help them grow their businesses. And don't forget the gala party! This year's celebration event is bound to be the best yet.

To learn more about this year's classes and events, please spend some time exploring our eBay Live! pages. We know that this will be the first trip to San Jose for many people, so you'll also find information to help you plan your trip: how to get to the event, where to stay, things to see and do, etc.

To register, simply click here.

See you in San Jose!

Regards,
Susan Phillips
Vice President, Seller Development

Look for the new eBay Compatible Application logo when searching the eBay Solutions Directory for tools and services that can grow your eBay business. The Solutions Directory is filled with experts and developers who can build solutions specific to your business, so if you're looking to grow your business but aren't sure how to start, check it out today at solutions.ebay.com.

For Austin, choose from the Selling Basics or Beyond the Basics of Selling course to get started selling or increase your sales. For Los Angeles, we're offering both of these, plus an extra eBay for Business course designed for members who want to turn their operation into a business entity.

Choose the Selling Basics course if you’re just getting started and learn about:

• Basic selling techniques
• How to create listings
• How to accept online payments with PayPal, and more.

Attend Beyond the Basics of Selling to take your sales to the next level and learn:

• Advanced selling techniques
• How to market your eBay listings
• What selling tools will save you time and increase sales, and more.

Select eBay for Business, presented by Entrepreneur magazine, if you want to turn your eBay operation into a business entity. This new addition to the eBay University curriculum will discuss:

• Tax issues that can affect your business
• Operations and inventory management
• E-Commerce and internet marketing trends that will impact your sales on eBay
• How to find new sources of inventory, and much more.

Classroom space is limited, so register today!

This month's edition features interesting and informative stories on a variety of topics, including:

• Finding Connections – How Lasting Friendships Form on eBay
• Military Families Find Support on eBay
• How eBay Works With Law Enforcement Around the World to Fight Crime.

To get to The Chatter, follow these steps:

Click "Community" in the Navigation Bar at the top of most eBay pages. In the "News" box, click on the link for The Chatter.

You can also go directly to The Chatter by clicking here.

If you have a story suggestion for us, we encourage you to send us email at chatterstaff@ebay.com.

Like the Stores Email Marketing tool, you can build your flyer using one of our pre-made templates or you can use HTML to create a flyer that’s totally customized. There’s no charge for creating Promotional Flyers — this tool is included in your eBay Store subscription.

To learn more about Promotional Flyers, and other new features in eBay Stores, check out the Latest News in Stores. To start creating your own Flyers, go to your “Manage your Store” page in My eBay and select “Store Promotional Flyer”.

The promotion starts on Wednesday, March 2, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ends that same day, Wednesday, March 2, 2005 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings which were created prior to March 2, 2005 and scheduled to start during the promotional period will also be eligible for the special promotional rate. For more information about this promotion on www.ebay.ca, please click here.

During the 50% Off Fixed Price and Free Buy It Now Upgrade for Auction-Style Listings Sale:

For Fixed Price format listings, the insertion fee will be 50% off. For more information about this promotional pricing, please click here. For auction-style listings the Buy It Now upgrade will be free. The 50% off Fixed Price and Free Buy It Now Upgrade sale will not apply to eBay Motors vehicles and non-vehicles, International, Live Auction, Professional Services, Real Estate, Ad Format, and Store Inventory listings. In addition, certain Business & Industrial categories are excluded from this promotion. Please visit the promotional page for more details.

All other fees (including Final Value Fees and optional listing upgrade fees such as Border, Bold, Highlight, Gallery, Gallery Featured, Featured Plus!, Listing Designer, Subtitle, Reserve, Extended Duration insertion fees, etc.) will still be charged. The promotional rate does not apply to listings with a start date prior to March 2, 2005, including those listings revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate also does not apply to listings created during the promotional period (March 2, 2005) that are scheduled to start after the promotion ends.

We hope you enjoy the special one-day 50% Off Fixed Price and Free Buy It Now Upgrade Sale!

Sellers who are registered on the US, Motors, Canada, or UK sites and are billed in US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, British Pounds, Euros, or Japanese Yen may sign up by clicking here. After signing up, your eBay invoiced amount due will automatically be deducted from your PayPal account no sooner than 10 days after you receive your invoice.

Your automatic PayPal deductions will begin on your next billing cycle after enrollment.

Simply register for the promotion at http://pages.ebay.com/shipping/sweepstakes.html. Then, every time you print a USPS Priority Mail(r) or Express Mail(r) label on eBay during the month of March, you'll earn one entry into the sweepstakes.

Now you can save more than just time and money with eBay's Online Postage - you can also earn a chance to win great prizes!

For more information about eBay’s Online Postage, click here.

Regards,
eBay

eBay Radio will be broadcast live today from the ASD/AMD tradeshow in Las Vegas! We'll use the show to focus on product sourcing. Griff will be interviewing exhibitors from the tradeshow floor to talk about their products. Plus, we'll have “Around the world on eBay in 80 seconds" with eBetsy. eBetsy will be visiting and "reporting" from each of our international sites from now until eBay Live. Learn more about the worldwide eBay with eBetsy!

And of course we'll also have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: Your calls! Got a question, comment, or concern? Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

And if you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

Regards,
eBay

This promotion starts Tuesday, March 1, 2005, at 00:00:01 PT (12 AM plus 1 second) and ends that same day, Tuesday, March 1, 2005, at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).

During the eBay Motors Parts and Accessories 50˘ Insertion Fee sale:

For regular auction-style and Fixed Price Parts and Accessories listings with a starting price above $9.99 on the U.S. Motors site (www.ebaymotors.com), the insertion fee will be capped at $0.50. All insertion fees less than $0.50 will still be charged at the normal rate. For more information about insertion fees during this promotion, please click here. Listings created prior to March 1, 2005 that are scheduled to start during the promotional period (March 1, 2005) will also be eligible to receive the promotional rate. The promotional rate does not apply for eBay Motors vehicle listings.

All other fees (such as transaction services fees and all other optional listing upgrade fees) will still be charged. More information about upgrade fees can be found by clicking here. The promotional offer does not apply for listings with a start date prior to March 1, 2005, including those listings revised during the promotional period (March 1, 2005), or for listings created during the promotional period but scheduled to start after March 1, 2005.

We hope you enjoy the eBay Motors Parts & Accessories 50˘ Insertion Fee sale!

Regards,
eBay Motors

During this temporary test, for those categories which may overlap significantly, a seller’s listing may appear in the second category at no additional cost. Any second category will only be added after the listing has been fully submitted, regardless of listing method. If the seller chose to List in 2 Categories for an item where we would have added the second category for free, their L2C fee will be refunded.

We believe that this test will provide the following benefits for buyers and sellers:

• Sellers receive a listing in a second category at no additional charge, giving their item more exposure to buyers.
• Buyers can see more items that are relevant to the category they’re browsing.

Sellers will see a small notation at the top of their item page if a second category was added. As this is just a limited test, the added categories may change often, and having a second category added for one listing does not guarantee it will be added for the next listing.

Regards,
eBay

• The "3-in-1 with Score eBay Special" is a 3-in-1 credit report, which is being offered to eBay members at a discount from the normal price for each individual report.

• The "Equifax Credit Watch™" is a product which monitors your credit and identity, is also priced at a discount only available to eBay members.

For more information about these reports and other eBay offers, please visit http://creditzone.ebay.com.

Regards,
eBay

Search Strategies for Selling More on eBay
This workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 2nd, from 13:00 PST to 14:00 PST. In this workshop, Allison Hartsoe, CEO of Certified Service Provider Internet Business Skills, will discuss powerful, easy-to-understand search strategies for selling more on eBay. You'll learn how to optimize your listing titles to increase traffic, and how to configure your eBay Store for maximum sales exposure.

Trading Assistants: Qualifying & Closing Leads
This workshop will be held on Thursday, March 3rd, from 15:00 to 16:00 PST. As a Trading Assistant, it is important that you first qualify the new client leads that you receive and understand whether they are a good match for your services. If the opportunity is good, then you need to quickly follow-up and close the deal! In this workshop, we will provide tips on how to effectively qualify and close your Trading Assistant client leads.

Workshops are hosted in discussion threads on the Workshops Board. To get to the Workshops Board:

• Go to www.ebay.com
• Click on Community at the top of the page
• Click on "Workshops" in the "Events" section
• This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

To view archived workshops or to learn more about future workshop events, please check our Workshops Calendar.

Want timely reminders about workshops? Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. Each notification will include the time and date, a brief description of the event, and a link to the discussion thread where the actual workshop will be held.

To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Regards,
eBay

First, you’ll find we have updated the display and educational text surrounding the Pay Now button. We hope that by simplifying the entrance point and better explaining Checkout, we can help buyers who may be confused about how to begin the payment process.

Second, buyers can now request the total payment amount for any of their items, regardless of the seller’s Checkout preferences. Before, neither a Pay Now or Request Total button would appear on the listing if the seller didn’t accept PayPal and also had their Checkout preferences off, and we’ve found that this could be confusing for buyers. Now buyers will see a Request Total button at the top of the listing in this situation. If the seller decides to send an invoice to the buyer, the Pay Now button will then appear on the listing.

Finally, we have addressed another potential situation that is confusing for buyers. Before, sellers that listed with PayPal automatically got Pay Now buttons on their listings, but if the seller’s global Checkout preference was set to Off, the Checkout flow would only support payment through PayPal. This caused quite a bit of confusion for buyers of these items who clicked on Pay Now and found they could not pay with all of the seller’s listed methods. We have updated Checkout to support all the seller’s payment methods whenever Pay Now buttons are displayed.

Regards,
eBay

For Buyers
As before, when you add a seller to your Favorite Sellers list, you can choose to have their items included in the Favorite Sellers Top Picks email. You can also add sellers to this email by going to the Edit Preferences page from your My eBay Favorite Seller section.

In addition, you will soon be able to access the new Favorite Sellers Top Picks page from your Favorite Seller section in My eBay. Both the email and the new Top Picks page will feature up to four items from each of your Favorite Sellers.

For Sellers
You can choose which items will be shown to buyers in both the email and on the Top Picks page. Select specific items, or have items automatically chosen for you based on your preferences. You will be able to access and update your Top Picks Preferences from the Seller Preferences section in My eBay once the feature has been fully introduced.

To learn more about this new feature, click here.

Regards,
eBay

The buyer version of the home page will include the following:

• My eBay at a Glance section (including Buying reminders)
• Access to My Messages
• Reminders when items on your Watch list are about to end
• The ability to Search within a specific category via a new Search box.

Buyers will start seeing the new version of the home page starting today.

Regards,
eBay

Protect Yourself from Identity Theft
This workshop will be held on Thursday, February 24th, from 10:00 PST to 11:00 PST. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes - it affects millions of people at home, in the office, at the mall, and online. Join eBay and the Federal Trade Commission for a workshop on what you can do to safeguard your identity. We'll take your questions on spoof/phishing emails and web sites, and give you practical tips for staying safe online.

Workshops are hosted in discussion threads on the Workshops Board. To get to the Workshops Board:

• Go to www.ebay.com
• Click on Community at the top of the page
• Click on "Workshops" in the "Events" section
• This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

To view archived workshops or to learn more about future workshop events, please check our Workshops Calendar.

Want timely reminders about workshops? Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. Each notification will include the time and date, a brief description of the event, and a link to the discussion thread where the actual workshop will be held.

To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Regards,
eBay

• Jim Miotke, author of "The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Taking Great Photos", who will share special digital photography tips for eBay sellers.
• Brian Lawe, eBay Certified Solutions provider and co-founder of MyStoreCredit.com, who will describe his service and product and how they can benefit eBay sellers.
• Jason Miner, eBay Radio contributing editor, with the PayPay Hour. Jason will be sharing PayPal news and taking your calls.
• eBetsy, who will present our new feature: “Around the world on eBay in 80 seconds." eBetsy will be visiting and "reporting" from each of our international sites from now until eBay Live. Learn more about the worldwide eBay with eBetsy!

Plus we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: Wide Open Phones! Got a question, comment, or concern? Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

If you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit http://www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

Regards,
eBay

Beyond the Basics can help you learn:

eBay does not permit the sale of items that have the sole purpose of facilitating access to cable or satellite television programming without authorization or payment. Stating that the item is for educational or test purposes will not legitimize a product that is otherwise inappropriate. This ban on P4 cards will go into effect on February 21, 2005. Listing these items will result in listing cancellation, and repeat listings may result in account suspension.

To learn more about prohibited items on eBay, please visit our Prohibited and Restricted Items page.

Regards,
eBay

You will receive a Sirius Satellite Radio, a Sirius SP-TK1 car adapter kit and 6 month subscription (a $250 value) at no cost when you:

• Win a listing for an eligible car, truck or motorcycle.
• Complete the sale on eBay Motors between February 21, 2005 and March 31, 2005.
• Finance your vehicle through the eBay Financing Center by completing a loan with HSBC Auto Finance or with Capital One Auto Finance. There are no fees to apply for financing.

This promotion starts Monday, February 21, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and ends on Thursday, March 31, 2005 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings which end prior to February 21, 2005 or after March 31, 2005 are not eligible.

Buyers, get more information about this promotion by clicking here.

Sellers, get more information by clicking here.

Learn more about Sirius Satellite Radio by clicking here.

View additional restrictions and full Official Terms and Conditions by clicking here.

Regards,
eBay Motors

* The Free Sirius Satellite Financing promotion is available only for qualifying credit applicants who are U.S. residents, 18 years or older and who apply for a loan through the eBay Financing Center and obtain financing from HSBC Auto Finance or Capital One Auto Finance for the purchase of an eligible car, truck or motorcycle resulting from a completed sale on www.ebaymotors.com that closes during the period February 21 - March 31, 2005. If your application is approved, ask your Account Representative for details. All application, vehicle, and loan restrictions apply. If you choose HSBC Auto Finance as your lender, the eBay item ID must be written on the back of the HSBC Auto Finance check. Minimum $7,500 loan amount. U.S. passenger vehicles and motorcycles only excluding Alaska and Hawaii. After you provide the loan check to the seller, Sirius will ship you a Sportster Sirius satellite radio, Sirius SP-TK1 car kit and information about your 6 month subscription (activation required) within 2-4 weeks. The free 6 month subscription may be activated by calling 1-800-422-7142, and a credit card is required. After completion of the initial 6-month subscription, service will renew automatically for an additional 6-months on Sirius’ standard Terms and Conditions. Subscriptions must be activated on or before the latter of two weeks after the receipt of the Prize Package or Sirius will activate by May 31, 2005. Free subscription periods activated by Sirius are not automatically renewed and carry no obligation. Taxes may apply. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Offer cannot be sold or transferred. Sirius and eBay Motors make no warranties with respect to tuners, antennas or other hardware. Service may not be available in all areas. All fees and programming are subject to change. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. © 2005 Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. “Sirius”, the Sirius dog logo and channel names and logos are trademarks of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. “NFL” and the NFL Shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League. “NHL” and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. “NBA” and the NBA silhouette logo are registered trademarks of NBA Properties, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks and logos are the property of respective owners. All rights reserved. Sirius is not affiliated with or controlled by eBay Motors, HSBC Auto Finance, Capital One Auto Finance, or any of their affiliates or subsidiaries. They make no representations or warranties regarding products and services provided by Sirius. Apply Now!

In addition, as mentioned in Bill Cobb’s message on February 6, the minimum insertion fees for auction-style listings, Fixed Price, Motors Non-Vehicle and B&I non-Capital Equipment Categories have been lowered from 30 cents to 25 cents ($0.35 Canadian to $0.30 Canadian). This reduced fee went into effect on February 7. For more details on the reduced Insertion Fee announcement, please click go here: (www.ebay.com/pricing2005).

Regards,
eBay

To participate:

1. Sign up for the promotion at www.ebay.com/scratchandwin.
2. Take the Challenge by answering three Seller Tools questions correctly, and then play the Instant Scratch & Win Game for a chance to win a TiVo® recorder instantly.
3. Sign up for Selling Manager, Selling Manager Pro or Sales Reports Plus and be entered into the Grand Prize Sweepstakes.

Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro
Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro are eBay's web-based sales management tools designed to help medium-to-high volume sellers track, manage and organize their sales more efficiently. Both Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro are global tools, easily accessible right from My eBay.

Sales Reports Plus
The new and easy-to-use Sales Reports Plus enable you to track your existing eBay business, understand the main drivers of your sales, and help guide key business decisions.

You can also register for the promotion by clicking here.

Regards,
eBay

This will be a new audio Town Hall format! Previous Town Halls have been text-based discussions in a live chat room, but we’ll be trying something special during this event. Members will still use the text-based chat to ask questions, and now you’ll be able to hear Bill answer questions from the Community using Windows Media Player. If you don’t already have this program installed on your computer, you can download it here for free.

To attend this Town Hall, or to send your questions to Bill in advance of the event, please visit the Town Hall page by clicking here.

We look forward to your participation!

Regards,
eBay Community Development team

Why we are making this change:

Our goal when we perform maintenance is to ensure we minimize the impact to our buyers and sellers across our global marketplace. Traffic patterns for the global eBay marketplace have changed over time. In addition, now eBay and PayPal are more integrated. To improve the member experience, we want to synchronize our maintenance periods for both sites.

Our new maintenance period (23:00 to 01:00 starting Thursday night) reflects the period during the week of lowest site traffic globally and will be consistent with the regular PayPal maintenance period. Please note that during most maintenance periods, eBay is available, with only certain site features experiencing intermittent unavailability or slowness. PayPal is unavailable during the maintenance period.

We will continue to provide weekly reminders on the System Announcement Board for each week’s maintenance period.

Regards,
eBay

Recently announced enhancements to eBay Stores include:

• Store Referral Credit increasing from 50% to 75%
• Toll-free phone support for all Store sellers
• Increased Exposure for Store Inventory listings
• Selling Manager to be included in the Basic Store subscription
• A $15.95 credit to all Store sellers with an open Store throughout April.

To learn more about upcoming enhancements to eBay Stores, please visit our Latest News Page.

To participate in the Brown Bag Lunch on February 16 at 11am PST, join us on the Stores Discussion Board by clicking here. We’ll be answering your questions and offering tips to help you use the full power of Stores to your advantage.

We look forward to chatting with you tomorrow!

Regards,
eBay Stores Team

• Photo Frame & Display - within Home Decor
• Mirrors - primarily within Home Decor as well as within Bath and Bedroom Furniture sub-categories
• Candle Holders - within Home Decor > Candles, Candle Holders
• Candle Accessories - within Home Decor > Candles, Candle Holders

Item Specifics is an eBay feature that makes it easier for sellers to provide additional item details and a clear, well-organized description during the selling process. Buyers can then search using these item details, in addition to regular Title search and Description Search, thus finding these items more quickly and easily.

Sellers can choose to include Item Specifics in their listing or not, and buyers can choose whether or not to search for these details. However, we believe the feature provides significant value to both buyers and sellers.

If you list items manually through an eBay seller tool (e.g. Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister) or the eBay API, Item Specifics will be available in the next few weeks. If you utilize a 3rd party listing service (e.g., Andale, Auctionworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will offer the Item Specifics functionality in the Home & Garden category.

For more information about Item Specifics in general, please refer to our FAQs:

Item Specifics FAQ
Item Specifics Overview
Item Specifics Product Finder
Item Specifics Item Page Example
Item Specifics As a Promotional Tool

For more information about detailed Item Specifics in the Photo Frames, Mirrors, and Candle Holders & Accessories categories, please refer to our Discussion Board post here.

Sellers will be able to list using Item Specifics in late February/early March. The ability to search by Item Specifics will be available a few weeks afterwards. If you have any comments or feedback about Item Specifics, please email them to homecategories@ebay.com with Item Specifics in the header and they will be considered for future enhancements.

Regards,
eBay

The UK and Germany Communities found these hunts so much fun, that my teammates and I have decided to run another Treasure Hunt on eBay.com!

Starting at midnight on Wednesday, February 16th, we're going to hide $1,000 cash prizes in special listings on eBay.com and eBay Motors. For eight days, we'll list 25 listings a day at various times, going through the end of Wednesday, February 23, 2005.

To help you find the prizes, we'll post a clue on our “Get Clues” page for each listing we put up. In celebration of President's Day, the clues will be words or phrases relating to U.S. Presidents, U.S. history or other Americana. Each clue will be a puzzle, and solving it will help you find the hidden prizes! Since we'll be listing items and posting clues at different times throughout each day, you'll want to check the page frequently.

Here's an example of how a clue might work: Let's say you figure that the answer to the clue we've given you is “motherhood.” With that answer in mind, you might try searching on “maternity dress” to try to find the hidden listing. If you find it, you'll know – just follow the instructions on the item page to claim your prize. We've made it so that none of the text in the description is searchable, so you'll have to use your wits (and maybe some teamwork) to figure out where the prizes are!

In addition, you can also enter our Grand Prize Sweepstakes for a chance to win $25,000, plus an eBay Featured Store subscription for life! Every day, you can earn one entry into the sweepstakes simply by buying, bidding on or listing an item (up to a total of 8 entries) on eBay.com or eBay Motors.

For more information about the eBay Treasure Hunt and to go to the Get Clues page, please click here.

Here's to a great Treasure Hunt. Happy Hunting!

Regards,
Joon-Soo Kim
eBay Marketing Team

• Joon-soo Kim, Manager of eBay's Gift Certificate program, who will be here to talk about the upcoming eBay Treasure Hunt that begins February 16. In the days leading up to and following President’s Day, eBay will host its inaugural Treasure Hunt promotion, celebrating America’s Founding Fathers. This promotion will award 25 $1,000 prizes a day, and one lucky person will win a $25,000 Grand Prize and a featured eBay Store for life.
• Chris Malta, Product Sourcing Contributing Editor, with Howard Friedman, Show Director for the ASD/AMD trade show, who will talk about the upcoming show and why attending could be a great move for eBay sellers.
• Rogelio Choy, Manager of eBay's Live Auctions business. Rogelio is responsible for marketing, business development, product vision, and the day-to-day operations of the Live Auction site, which he'll be discussing.
• Plus, we'll have “Around the world on eBay in 80 seconds" with eBetsy. eBetsy will be visiting and "reporting" from each of our international sites from now until eBay Live. Learn more about the world-wide eBay with eBetsy!

And of course we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: Your calls! Got a question, comment, or concern? Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

And if you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

Regards,
eBay

eBay Keywords Tool Enhancements
This workshop will be held on Monday, February 14th, from 17:00 PST to 18:00 PST. Please join the eBay Keywords team as they discuss several new feature enhancements to the eBay Keywords Tool, as well as other valuable information.

Community Hub Page Redesign
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, February 15th, from 11:00 to 12:00 PST. As we previously announced, we have redesigned the Community Hub page and updated the Discussion boards. We would like to take the opportunity to discuss any feedback that you may have about these changes. To check out the new Community Hub and discussion boards, click on Community at the top of almost any eBay page.

Workshops are hosted in discussion threads on the Workshops Board. To get to the Workshops Board:

• Go to www.ebay.com
• Click on Community at the top of the page
• Click on "Workshops" in the "Events" section
• This will bring you to the threaded Workshops Board.

To view archived workshops or to learn more about future workshop events, please check our Workshops Calendar.

Want timely reminders about workshops? Sign up for the Workshops Information Group! By joining this group, you will receive an email notification reminding you about upcoming eBay Workshops. Each notification will include the time and date, a brief description of the event, and a link to the discussion thread where the actual workshop will be held.

To sign up for the Workshops Information Group, please click here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Regards,
eBay

I’d like to announce a special one-day 5˘ Listing Day Sale tomorrow (Monday). Insertion fees for auction-style and Fixed Price format listings on eBay.com, eBay Motors (for non-vehicles listings) and eBay.ca will be a nickel. All other fees will be at the standard rates. You can get all the details here. For information about the promotion on eBay.ca, click here.

eBay’s success is based on the success of our buyers and sellers. We understand this, and we’re working hard to put those words into action more than ever before. I know a one-day sale is a small gesture, but I hope it helps.

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at eBay.

Regards,
Bill

P.S. This one’s for wendel22 and Libby.

We appreciate your input on how we can make categories better for everyone. You may submit categories suggestions here.

Thanks again to all our members who contribute to these trade-enhancing changes!

Regards,
eBay

Some of the important resources and tools that now reside here include: Announcements, the Feedback Forum, Workshops and Events, Online Forums (discussion & chat boards, eBay Groups), and The Security Center. In addition, as part of this launch, our discussion boards have been updated, per our earlier announcement . To access the new Community Hub and discussion boards, please click on the Community button at the top of any eBay page.

The Community hub was developed after extensive research into how buyers and sellers think about and use the eBay site. We hope it becomes one of your first stops on eBay each day by giving you all the resources you need to stay connected and informed – for business and for fun! More information about this project can be found in our previous announcement directly below.

Regards,
eBay

During the listing process, sellers listing golf clubs in the aforementioned categories will get the choice to list a club using the Pre-Filled Item Information feature, or the standard Sell Your Item form. Sellers who use the Pre-Filled feature will have the following information automatically populated within their listing:

1. 4-color stock photo of the golf club
2. Multi-sentence product description
3. Manufacturer/brand description
4. Club Head material description

By taking advantage of Pre-Filled Item Information, sellers will experience the following benefits:

• Flexibility - use pre-filled material alone or with content of your own.
• Time savings - your listing will be automatically “pre-filled” with pertinent product-specific information, without you having to create it yourself.
• Better listing quality - pertinent product details that your buyers are looking for will be automatically populated for you.
• It's free and optional!

Buyers that use keyword searches to find your items will continue to find them in the same manner as before. Buyers that use the Product Finders to browse for items will also find your items as before, but will only see those listings that use Item Specifics.

Pre-Filled Item Information for this category will be available from the Sell Your Item form, other eBay selling tools (Turbo Lister, Selling Manager, etc.), and many third-party tools. eBay selling tools may require a download in order to get this new functionality. If your third-party tool does not support Item Specifics or Pre-Filled Item Information, please contact them to learn more about whether they plan to support them.

We also encourage you to check out our Pre-Filled Item Information page for more information and Seller Central for details on upcoming changes to Item Specifics.

We have started a thread on the Outdoor Sports discussion board to provide more detail about the upcoming changes, as well as gather feedback. To access the thread please click here.

Regards,
eBay

Toll-Free Phone Support for All Store Sellers - Beginning April 1, all Store sellers will receive access to toll-free phone support during business hours (6:00am to 6:00pm Pacific Time, Monday through Friday).

$15.95 Credit on Stores Subscription in the Month of April - We’ll be crediting $15.95 – a month's Basic Stores subscription – in May to all sellers who operated an eBay Store for the month of April as a “thank you” for your business.

Over the last year, the Stores team has worked hard to listen to your needs and improve eBay Stores with new features and flexibility that help you be more successful with your business on eBay. Today, in addition to the benefits mentioned above, we’re introducing more important features and benefits for Store sellers:

Store Referral Credit Increased to 75% of Final Value Fees - Starting next week, we will be increasing the Store Referral Credit on eligible sales from 50% to 75%. Store Referral Credits are discounts on Final Value Fees as a reward for driving buyers to your eBay Store.

More Exposure for Store Inventory Items - Also starting next week, we will be increasing the exposure that Store Inventory format listings get in eBay’s main Search. Currently, when a buyer searches on eBay and finds fewer than 10 Auction-style or Fixed Priced listings available, they see up to 20 additional Store Inventory listings that match that search. Beginning next week, we will start displaying 30 additional Store Inventory listings when there are 20 or less listings found in Auction-style or Fixed Price formats.

Free Selling Manager with all Basic Store Subscriptions - Coming this spring, we will be adding Selling Manager (regularly $4.99 per month) to the Basic Store Subscription at no additional charge. Selling Manager is eBay’s online sales management tool for medium to high volume sellers. It’s a valuable addition to the Basic Store subscription, making it easier and faster for you to manage your eBay listings.

The Stores team and I have been reading your posts on the boards and the emails you’ve sent to Bill Cobb regarding Stores issues. We understand and respect your thoughts and concerns about eBay Stores, and we acknowledge that the recent fee increase requires many of you to re-evaluate how eBay Stores can best fit into your selling strategies. Our goal is to make sure we’re delivering the quality you need and expect for your money. I invite you to email me at chris_stores@ebay.com with your thoughts about how we can deliver on that goal.

We are holding our monthly Brown Bag Discussion on the Stores Discussion Board next Wednesday, February 16 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm Pacific time. I hope you will bring your questions and join me and the Stores team in a lively Q&A session. Let’s keep the conversation going.

Regards,
Chris Tsakalakis
Senior Director, eBay Stores

Fidelity offers a wide range of investment products and services, including retirement, brokerage and college savings. eBay members receive Fidelity’s traditional low pricing, financial consultations and special offers such as reduced pricing on trades, free trades, a free backpack, and $100 account opening offers when they open and fund eligible accounts. eBay members also have access to specialized phone, web and IM support from Fidelity.

Click here to find out more.

Regards,
eBay

During the special 2-day promotion, Border will be $0.25 for all listings on the following sites:

• U.S. (www.ebay.com)
• eBay Motors (www.ebaymotors.com), for both vehicles and non-vehicles listings
• eBay Canada (www.ebay.ca)

The promotion will start on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 at 00:00:01 PT (12:00 AM plus one second) and end on Thursday, February 10, 2005 at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds). Listings created prior to February 9, 2005 and scheduled to start during the promotional period (February 9–10, 2005) will be eligible for the promotional rate. Take advantage of this promotion to try Border with all your listings!

During the Border for a Quarter Promotion:

For auction-style, Fixed Price, Ad Format (for those that will run for less than or equal to 30 days), and Motors listings, the fee for Border will be $0.25. This promotion will not apply to International, Live Auction, Professional Services, and Stores Inventory listings.

All other fees (including Insertion Fees, Final Value Fees and all other optional listing upgrade fees, such as Buy It Now, Highlight, Gallery, Gallery Featured, Featured Plus!, Listing Designer, Gift Services, Bold, Reserve, Subtitle, extended duration insertion fees, etc.) will still be charged at their normal rate. The promotional rate does not apply to listings which start prior to February 9, 2005 or those listings which are revised during the promotional period. The promotional rate also does not apply to listings created during the promotional period that are scheduled to start after the promotion ends on February 10, 2005.

We hope you enjoy the Border for a Quarter promotion!

Regards,
eBay

Key features for Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro:

• Centralized page to manage upload/download activity. You can now go to the new File Management Center page from the Seller Tools section to manage your entire upload and download activity. This new page replaces the old Download Sales History link in the left hand navigation bar.
• Email confirmation for Sales History download request. You can request a sales history download and will receive an email confirmation when the file is ready to be downloaded.

For Selling Manager Pro only:

• Ability to download active listings. Selling Manager Pro users can now choose to download their active listings as well as all types of sold item listings. Sellers can use the active listings download to help keep track of all current active listings.
• Ability to schedule recurring requests for downloading sold item information. Selling Manager Pro users will be able to set up recurring future downloads of their sold items.

If you would like to receive an email when new eBay Selling Manager enhancements are introduced, join the eBay Seller Tools Group.

To learn more about eBay Selling Manager Products, click here.

To help buyers find the Misses Women's Clothing types (e.g., sweaters, pants, jackets, etc) more quickly, we will elevate the Misses clothing types within the Women's Clothing category.

In addition, Items Specifics will be updated in several categories in Men's Clothing, Women's Clothing, Shoes, and Accessories.

We have started threads on the Clothing, Shoes & Accessories discussion board to provide more detail about the upcoming Category Changes and Item Specifics Changes, and for members to leave their feedback:

Regards,
eBay

• Digital Cameras
• Camcorders
• PDAs
• Video Game Systems
• Cell Phones

The planned changes will both update current values for Pre-Filled Item Information, as well as add new ones, to reflect recent changes in product information.

Sellers who use Pre-filled Item Information when relisting or revising items in these categories may receive the following message that their original Item Specifics and/or Pre-filled Item Information have changed: The Pre-Filled Item Information for this item has been updated with the latest information. Please review the changes.

We encourage sellers who receive this message to double-check their listing for accuracy before completing the listing.

Regards,
eBay

For more information on how to protect yourself from spoof emails and Web sites, we encourage you to visit the Security & Resolution Center.

• Chris Malta, eBay Radio contributing editor and product sourcing expert, who will share tips and advice for sourcing new products.
• Marjie Smith, Founder of DOUA, the Disabled Online Users Assocation, who has an update on recent DOUA events and news.
• Rieva Lesonsky, Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Media and eBay Contributing Editor, who will discuss "Common Mistakes of Some Businesses on eBay and How To Avoid Them."
• Plus, new starting this week, eBay Radio welcomes “Around the world on eBay in 80 seconds" with eBetsy. eBetsy will be visiting each of our international sites from now until eBay Live.

And of course we'll have "The News" with Lee Mirabal, as well as the most important feature on eBay Radio: Your calls! Got a question, comment, or concern? Call in during the show at 888-327-0061 (USA) or 001-858-623-0102 (Internationally) to talk with Griff and his guests or to ask a question and share your voice with the rest of the eBay Community. Remember, one lucky caller per week, selected at random, will receive an autographed copy of Griff's book, "The Official eBay Bible".

And if you can't catch the live show you can always select and listen to any past eBay Radio broadcast, listed by topic and date, in the eBay Radio archives. Visit www.wsradio.com/ebayradio for more information and to listen to eBay Radio on your computer.

Regards,
eBay

This promotion starts Tuesday, February 8, 2005, at 00:00:01 PT (12 AM plus 1 second) and ends that same day, Tuesday, February 8, 2005, at 23:59:59 PT (11:59 PM plus 59 seconds).

During the eBay Motors Parts and Accessories 50˘ Insertion Fee sale:

For regular auction-style and Fixed Price Parts and Accessories listings, the insertion fee will be capped at $0.50 for all items with a starting price above $9.99 on the U.S. Motors site (www.ebaymotors.com). All insertion fees less than $0.50 will still be charged at the normal rate. For more information about insertion fees during this promotion, please click here. Listings created prior to February 8, 2005 that are scheduled to start during the promotional period (February 8, 2005) will be eligible to receive the promotional rate. The promotional rate does not apply for eBay Motors vehicle listings.

All other fees (such as transaction services fees and all other optional listing upgrade fees) will still be charged. More information about upgrade fees can be found by clicking here. The promotional offer does not apply for listings with a start date prior to February 8, 2005, including those listings revised during the promotional period (February 8, 2005), or for listings created during the promotional period but scheduled to start after February 8, 2005.

We hope you enjoy the eBay Motors Parts & Accessories 50˘ Insertion Fee sale!

Regards,
eBay Motors

eBay's site map has long served as a quick reference point for our members to navigate the site. Over the years the amount of information and the number of links on the site map have grown, making it more difficult to use. We are redesigning the site map to make it easier to find the information that you’re looking for.

Some of the key features of the redesigned site map include:

• Updated look and feel to make it consistent with other important eBay pages;
• Better organization of important information, such as grouping links like “Regions” and "Stores";
• Prominent subject headers to help you scan the page easily.

To take a look at the new site map, please click on the "site map" link in the navigation area at the top of most eBay pages. Then click on the "Beta Site Map" link near the top of the page. You can also go to the beta site map directly by clicking here. To compare the current and beta versions of the site map, you can view them in separate browser windows. We have also started a discussion thread about the beta sitemap so you can give us your input, comments, or report any issues. To access this thread, please click here.

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes--it affects people at home, at work, in the shopping mall and online. eBay believes that consumer education is a vital component of identity protection. Vigilant consumers who exercise common sense, monitor their accounts and protect their personal information are the best equipped to safeguard their identity.

We encourage you to take the following steps to protect your identity:

1. Protect yourself from phishing (spoof) emails and Web sites.
   Occasionally, eBay members may receive deceptive emails claiming to come from eBay, PayPal, banks, or other popular Web sites. Most of these fake emails claim that your account is in jeopardy and require that you respond or you will not be able to use your account. The people who send these emails – referred to as "spoof" or "phishing" emails – hope that unsuspecting recipients will reply or click on a link contained in the email and then provide sensitive personal information (for example, eBay User IDs, passwords, social security numbers, credit card numbers, etc.).
   • Never enter your eBay password, PayPal password, or financial information into an email form. eBay and PayPal will never ask you to do this.
   • Get eBay Toolbar with Account Guard – this free tool for Internet Explorer users indicates when you are on eBay or PayPal and alerts you when you are on a potentially fraudulent site. To download eBay Toolbar, please click here.

2. Monitor your accounts.
   With a close eye on your account, you can spot suspicious activity and take steps to notify officials. You should regularly monitor the accounts that you hold with your bank, phone company, and e-commerce providers. You should also order a credit report every year to ensure that it is accurate.

3. Use strong and unique passwords.
   Good passwords have two things in common. First, they include a combination of letters and numbers. This helps prevent someone from guessing your password and prevents an intruding computer from randomly going through words in the dictionary until it finds the right match. Second, a strong password will be unique to the account. Just as you wouldn't use the same key for your car, your office and your house, unique passwords are an important preventative step in the event someone gets hold of one of your passwords.

Join eBay and the Federal Trade Commission for an Online Workshop
We will be co-hosting an online community workshop with experts in identity protection from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Thursday, February 24th, at 10.00 a.m. PST to answer your questions about Identity Protection and online safety. We hope you can join us. For more details, please click here.

You can learn more safety tips by visiting the Online Security Resources section on eBay's Security & Resolution Center which includes detailed information about spoof emails, identity theft, and what to do if your eBay account has been compromised. We also encourage you to visit the FTC's National Consumer Protection Week Web Site for additional information.

eBay is committed to enabling you to have a safe and enjoyable experience online. Your vigilance helps us ensure that eBay remains a safe and vibrant online marketplace.

One of the issues I've heard a lot about is our recent fee increases, particularly the increase in Store Inventory Format final value fees. I've also heard concerns about customer support, the amount of change we make to the site on a regular basis, and trust and safety. We're listening to everything you have to say.

eBay has become a hugely successful marketplace as a result of the innovation, enthusiasm and hard work of our Community. The site has also become more complex as it has grown to meet many of your needs. So our challenge is to keep pace with the Community's changing requirements, while preserving the things that make eBay so special. With that in mind, I'd like to give you a preview of some upcoming changes for the United States and Canada.

eBay has a fantastic Customer Support team, but Meg and I agree we haven't invested enough in giving our CS reps the flexibility and tools they need to really take care of you. So, to start, within the next 90 days, we'll shut down most of our automated email responses. Our users will get a “real” e-mail response to their questions – you'll hear from a human being who will try to help you with your problem or question right off the bat. We will only use auto responses to acknowledge receipt of spam or policy violation reports.

We also think the time has come to expand phone support. Currently phone support is available only to Silver, Gold, Platinum and Titanium PowerSellers. Starting April 1, all eBay Stores owners also will have access to phone support. We'll provide details on the benefits of phone support to Stores owners soon.

We know pricing is a critical issue for our sellers. While we stand behind our decision to increase final value fees on Store Inventory Format listings – because they make sense for items that list with insertion fees of two cents – I know this increase has been difficult for some of our sellers. To reward our eBay Stores sellers, we'll be crediting $15.95 – a month's Basic Stores subscription – in May to all sellers who operated an eBay Store for the month of April. Stores owners will receive more details on this soon.

We also want to do something for the rest of our sellers. I'm happy to announce that effective at midnight tonight, eBay.com and eBay.ca will reduce minimum insertion fees for Auction-Style listings, Fixed Price, Motors Non-Vehicle and B&I non-Capital Equipment Categories from 30 cents to 25 cents (CA$0.35 to CA$0.30). eBay Germany has always used this pricing, and users there have benefited from higher conversion rates on items with lower starting bids.

One of the great things about eBay is the candor and passion of our Community. Your input keeps this company focused on what's right and important. Later this month, I'll be hosting an online meeting to hear more from you. You'll see more details on this Announcement Board soon. And I'll periodically post notes like this one to talk about issues of importance to all of us.

eBay has never stopped listening to our users and we never will. I know many of you already have Meg's e-mail address and frequently send her messages about things you care about. I hope you will do the same with me. My e-mail address is billcobb@ebay.com. I promise I'll read every e-mail. And most of all, I'll listen.

Sincerely,

Bill Cobb
President
eBay North America

The key changes include:

• increasing the height (up to 33%) of pictures displayed in areas such as My eBay, search and listings pages, and Stores Custom pages;
• increasing the height of vertically-oriented (portrait) pictures to make their height comparable to the width of horizontally-oriented (landscape) pictures;
• supporting square pictures as well as rectangular pictures of any proportions;
• improving clarity for pictures when they are displayed in smaller sizes, such as in search and listings pages and in My eBay;
• eliminating the white padding added to pictures which forced them to fixed heights and widths.

Please note: If you are a seller who uses eBay Enhanced Picture Services (available only when using Internet Explorer on Microsoft Windows), then the next time you upload pictures you will be prompted to first download and install a required update of the free eBay Picture Services ActiveX control.

It will take a few days for the changes to be implemented across the entire eBay site. In the meantime, you may see newly uploaded pictures displaying in either the old or the new format until the rollout is complete.

For more details and a complete list of features in this release, please view the release notes posted on the Turbo Lister discussion board.

To download Turbo Lister for the first time, or for general information about Turbo Lister, please click here.

More information about the enhanced emails can be found in our previous announcements directly below.

To learn more about how to customize eBay’s End of Auction and Transaction emails, or to see an example of the new changes, please click here.

Regards,
eBay

To clarify, no changes are being made to the Final Value Fees on Auction-style, Auction with Buy It Now option, and Fixed Priced listings (with the exception of certain Business & Industrial capital equipment categories). Final Value Fee changes apply only to Store Inventory Format listings, a listing format only available to Store sellers and with durations of 30, 60, 90, and 120 days and Good 'Til Cancelled.

The Final Value Fees for Auction-style listings, Auction with Buy It Now option, and Fixed Price listings have remained unchanged since 2002.

You can view the full details of the pricing announcement below.

Regards,
eBay

eBay Live! is a learning opportunity like no other. The three-day event is set up so you can chat with eBay staff, have discussions on real business issues, and attend in-depth classes intended to help you immediately, whether you’re a buyer or a seller. With new learning resources specifically developed for this year’s event (such as education consultants), more advanced courses, and more opportunities to attend the most popular classes, we’ve made it even easier for you to get exactly you need from this year’s eBay Live!

Beginning March 4th, you can register to attend eBay Live! 2005 for $75 — a $20 savings! This offer is good through April 17th. But even before registration opens, you can go to www.ebay.com/ebaylive and learn all about where to stay, where to park, how to get there — anything you’d want to know.

Mark your calendar and get ready to meet the people who love what you love.

See you in San Jose!

Regards,
eBay

Since then, the top request we have received from sellers is to make the current form shorter and more efficient. We are now working on the next generation Sell Your Item form, and we invite sellers to be part of the development process by providing input as we build it.

The next generation SYI form is currently available in an alpha version, referred to as SYI Alpha 1. It is a streamlined form that is intended to cut down on the time required to submit a new listing. Because it is still in development, the features and formats found here may or may not be included in the final version. We want your input on this alpha version to help us shape how the final product will work. You actually can list items on the site through SYI Alpha 1 to test it, with some restrictions. For example, it currently does not support categories that use Item Specifics (such as media, consumer electronics and clothing categories). Please click here for more information about these restrictions.

Please note that while the actual release of the new SYI form has not been determined yet, it is many months away. When a launch date has been established, we will provide sellers with a comfortable lead time to learn the new tool and prepare for the change.

So, please come be part of the SYI development process by listing and item or two with SYI Alpha 1 and letting us know what you think! To learn more about SYI Alpha 1, click here.

Regards,
eBay

We have created a new information page with FAQs to provide more details about this change. To access this page, please click here.

Regards,
eBay

• Lathes, Turning-Type Machines – a subcategory of the Business & Industrial > Manufacturing & Metalworking > Metalworking Equipment category.
• Forklifts & Other Lifts – a subcategory of the Business & Industrial > Industrial Supply, MRO category.
• Utility Vehicles – a subcategory of the Business & Industrial > Agriculture & Forestry > Modern Tractors & Equipment category.

For sellers, Item Specifics help make it easier to present a clean, well-organized description that clearly articulates important equipment details that buyers want to see. Using Item Specifics is free and optional. For buyers, Item Specifics should make finding the right piece of equipment easier by reducing the number of non-equipment items in the category. Buyers will also be able to search for items using Item Specifics a few weeks later.

Item Specifics will be available for sellers who list items through the Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister, Seller Assistant, Seller Assistant Pro, or Selling Manager Pro. This may require downloading an update for these eBay seller tools (except Selling Manager Pro). If you utilize a third party listing service (for example, Andale, Marketworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will offer the Item Specifics functionality in the above categories:

We have started a thread on the Business & Industrial discussion board to provide more detail about the upcoming changes. To access the thread please click here.

For more information about Item Specifics, please refer to the following:

• Item Specifics Frequently Asked Questions
• Item Specifics Overview
• Item Specifics Product Finder
• Item Specifics Item Page Example
• Item Specifics As a Promotional Tool

If you have any comments or feedback about Item Specifics, please email them to business@ebay.com and they will be considered for future enhancements.

Regards,
eBay

We are now pleased to announce that schlernhex, whose story we felt especially captured the spirit of The Power of All of Us, has been named as the Grand Prize Winner. You can read their story, as well as those of our 25 First Place winners, by clicking here.

Thank you to everyone who submitted their story!

Regards,
eBay

For a complete list of features in this release, view the beta version release notes posted on the Turbo Lister Beta discussion board.

To get the beta version of Turbo Lister Version 2.9.0.1, you must first join the Turbo Lister Beta Program. To join the program, please take the following steps within Turbo Lister:

1. Go to the "Tools" menu
2. Select "Options"
3. Select "Advanced Options"
4. Click the "Join Beta Program" button.

To download Turbo Lister for the first time, or general information about Turbo Lister, please click here.

We have started a thread on the Seller Central discussion board for members to leave their feedback about Best Offer. To access that thread, please click here.

To learn more about Best Offer, please click here.

Regards,
eBay

Customizable Cross Promotions Display
Store sellers can use either eBay's standard yellow coloring in their cross promotion display box, or they can now customize it to feature their Store colors. To customize your display, select “Customize Cross Promotion Display” under the “Store Editing/Branding” section of the “Manage Your Store” page.

List in Two Store Categories
Stores sellers can also now list one item in two different Store Categories. For example, now you can put your “Sterling Silver Ring” listing in your “Silver Jewelry” category and your “Rings” category. There is no cost for listing your item in two Store Categories.

To take advantage of this feature, simply list in two Store categories from the Sell Your Item form. This option will also be available in eBay’s listing tools in the next few days. You can also bulk revise your listings to have them display in an additional Store Category.

If you would like to receive an email when new eBay Stores enhancements are introduced, join the eBay Stores group! To learn more, click here.

Regards,
eBay

• Make a One Time Credit Card Payment
• Make a One Time Direct Payment
• Place a Credit Card on File for recurring monthly billing
• Place Checking Account on File for recurring monthly billing.

Highlights of the enhancements include:

• Members will no longer need to re-enter bank account or credit card information when initiating a payment through a payment method already on file. You will still need to enter your Credit Card Identification Number (CVV2) as this is not stored by eBay.
• When making a One Time Payment, you will have the option to place the payment method on file as a recurring payment method.
• The payment box will be pre-filled and editable with the current account balance.
• Members will be able to directly access the payment flow from the View Account Status page.

Regards,
eBay

We appreciate your input on how we can make categories better for everyone. You may submit categories suggestions here.

Thanks again to all our members who contribute to these trade-enhancing changes!

Regards,
eBay

This is your opportunity to get first hand knowledge about eBay's efforts to maintain a safe, well-lit marketplace. Rob will discuss recent Trust & Safety programs including: the Item Not Received process, the Unpaid Item process, PayPal Buyer Protection, and important tips to stay safe online. Additionally Rob will also answer your specific questions about eBay’s Trust & Safety initiatives.

To attend this Town Hall, please register by clicking here.

After registering, you can send us your questions for Rob in advance of the Town Hall.

We look forward to seeing you there!

For more information, please see our original announcement directly below.

Regards,
eBay

The success eBay enjoyed this quarter is a direct result of our Community of members. Your loyalty, passion and innovation have helped us build a dynamic marketplace that continues to grow quarter after quarter.

We look forward to working together for even greater success in the coming year and beyond.

Thank you,
Meg

To learn more about eBay's performance for the quarter, click here.

Over the years, the ability to filter Feedback to view only the positive or only the negative comments has been a common request from the global eBay Community. There is debate internally and amongst members about whether such a feature would be positive for the marketplace. One viewpoint is that making it easier to see any negative comments will help members be more efficient and make better trading decisions. Another perspective, however, is that Feedback should only be evaluated in context and that viewing negative comments by themselves could unfairly influence potential trading partners.

The Feedback system is the cornerstone of what makes the eBay marketplace safe, and both of these views are legitimate. Any changes considered must be carefully evaluated to avoid any unintended consequences.

To help evaluate this potential change, we are implementing a limited, 90-day trial for Feedback filtering on the following International eBay sites: China, France, Italy, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. It will apply only to Feedback received within the past 12 months and the feature will be removed immediately after the 90-day test. Also included will be a feature that allows a member to quickly view the Feedback left by both parties for a transaction (if available).

For more information about how this feature will work, please see the UK Announcement board.

Depending on the results of the trial, the feature could be released globally later in 2005. We also welcome your comments and invite you to send your thoughts and suggestions about this feature to feedbackdesign@ebay.com.

Regards,
eBay

For more information about the new Item Not Received process, please read our related announcements from last year.

Starting next week, buyers who have not received their item or heard from their seller in 10 days from the end of the listing will be able to initiate the new Item Not Received process from four different access points:

1. the Dispute Console in My eBay,
2. a new link in My eBay ("Report an Item Not Received" link in the Action column),
3. the Security & Resolution Center and
4. eBay’s Help pages.

Sellers can respond to Item Not Received disputes via the Dispute Console in My eBay. They will also receive an alert via email letting them know they have a new dispute.

Buyers who have previously filed Fraud Alerts can continue to check progress on their claims by clicking here.

We appreciate the valuable feedback many Community members have given us about the new process. After launching the Item Not Received process next week, we will continue to monitor how well the process is working for both buyers and sellers and make any needed adjustments.

To familiarize yourself with how the process will work, please take the educational tour and read the Frequently Asked Questions. In addition, we will be holding an Item Not Received Workshop on January 20th from 3:00-4:00 p.m. PST to answer your questions about the new process. We hope you can join us.

For sellers, Item Specifics help make it easier to present a clean, well-organized description that clearly articulates important equipment details that buyers want to see. For example, a seller using Item Specifics can choose to call out the make and model of the skid steer, engine horsepower or operating load.

For buyers, Item Specifics should make finding the right piece of construction equipment easier by reducing the number of non-equipment items in the category (e.g., parts, which should be listed in the ‘Heavy Equipment Parts, Manuals' category). Buyers will also be able to search for items using Item Specifics a few weeks later. For example, a buyer using Item Specifics could choose to search specifically for 4-wheel drive Case backhoe.

Item Specifics will be available in early January for sellers who list items through the Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister, Seller Assistant, Seller Assistant Pro, or Selling Manager Pro. This may require downloading an update for these eBay seller tools (except Selling Manager Pro). If you utilize a third party listing service (for example, Andale, Marketworks, etc.), please contact them to verify that they will offer the Item Specifics functionality in the following categories:

We have started a thread on the Business & Industrial discussion board to provide more detail about the upcoming changes. To access the thread please click here.

For more information about Item Specifics, please refer to the following:

• Item Specifics Frequently Asked Questions
• Item Specifics Overview
• Item Specifics Product Finder
• Item Specifics Item Page Example
• Item Specifics As a Promotional Tool

If you have any comments or feedback about Item Specifics, please email them to business@ebay.com and they will be considered for future enhancements.

Regards,
eBay

On behalf of eBay and PayPal, the eBay Foundation will be making a contribution to help with the relief efforts in Asia, and we are investigating other ways to help as more information becomes available and the needs of those affected become more clear. eBay’s Giving Works team is compiling a list of charities that have established special initiatives to collect funds for this effort that we will share in the next several days.

Today, many humanitarian organizations associated with this type of relief work are represented in listings offered on the eBay Giving Works site and in the MissionFish Directory. We encourage those interested to investigate those listings for opportunities to give -- either via selling on behalf of a chosen charity, bidding or buying a listing that contributes all or a percentage to the charity of choice, or through direct donations via the organization’s website.

In addition, a dedicated Tsunami Crisis Discussion Board has been set up for eBay members worldwide to share their thoughts, as well as non-profits they know of that have established Asia Relief funds. As these efforts continue, we will keep you posted with our progress.

Our hearts and good thoughts go out to all of those impacted by these events.

Regards,
eBay

Current listings that meet these conditions will be allowed to end as scheduled.

All new listings or any re-listed item must comply with this policy effective today.

All current Store listings must be in compliance by Wednesday January 5th.

For additional information, please refer to eBay’s Firearms Ammunition, Replicas, and Militaria Help page.

Regards,
eBay

We have also started a thread on the Jewelry discussion board to provide more detail about the upcoming changes and for members to leave their feedback. To access the thread please click here.

Regards,
eBay

My Messages is a place for you to receive secure, relevant messages directly from eBay. eBay will use My Messages to keep you updated with useful information about buying, selling, and other activities and events on eBay. In coming phases, we will also use My Messages to alert you to important information about your account.

At launch in December 2004, My Messages will be a read-only inbox where you can be assured that ALL messages received come directly from eBay. (No third parties can send messages to My Messages.) The first messages to appear will contain useful information and keep you informed about events on eBay. You can delete messages, or they can be kept for up to 60 days.

My Messages will be packed with new features, such as:

• My Messages reminders on the My Summary page for unread messages, unresolved alerts, and user-flagged messages;
• Message reminders in the At A Glance modules on the Home Page, Sell Hub, and Buy Hub;
• Customization of the My Messages inbox view;
• Full views and printer-friendly views of messages and alerts.

In 2005, we are looking forward to adding more administrative content and additional functionality to make My Messages even better.

Please take some time to become familiar with this upcoming addition to My eBay by checking out the My Messages Preview and the My Messages FAQ. Since member input led to many of the features, we would like to get your initial thoughts about this new application. Please send feedback to mymessages-feedback@ebay.com or go to the thread we have started so members can leave feedback on the My eBay Discussion Board. We will not be able to respond to all comments directly, but all comments will be read and considered.

Look for more details to come!

Regards,
eBay

Why the Item Not Received Process is Important:
Today, when there is a problem with a transaction, it can often be unclear to both buyers and sellers what steps they can take to reach a successful resolution. This can lead to added frustration and a negative member experience for both transaction partners. The new Item Not Received process will help both buyers and sellers understand what actions to take in the unlikely event that a transaction problem occurs.

Benefits of the new Item Not Received process include:

• Enhanced Buyer-Seller Communication System -- Buyers will be able to initiate a dialogue with sellers from within My eBay. This system is designed to facilitate positive outcomes. At each stage of the process, eBay will provide guidance to both the buyer and the seller, through educational tips and next steps that may help them resolve the problem.
• Consolidated Dispute Console in My eBay -- Buyers and sellers will be able to track and respond to any Item Not Received or Unpaid Item dispute from one location in My eBay.
• Improved Member Education -- New buyers are often unfamiliar with what to expect on eBay. The new process will emphasize education for new buyers at each stage of the process. It will also require that buyers wait at least seven days to initiate a dispute. This will give the buyer time to learn about standard delivery times and other processes related to purchasing items on eBay. In addition, both buyers and sellers will receive resolution tips to improve chances for resolution.
• Shorter Waiting Period -- Buyers who are unable to resolve a dispute with the seller will not have to wait as long to file a claim through the eBay Standard Purchase Protection Program. A buyer will be able to close the dispute and file a claim 17 days after the listing ends on eBay. (Currently, there is a 30-day waiting period).
• Better Integration with PayPal -- Buyers who pay with PayPal will be brought directly to PayPal to initiate a claim. PayPal will determine if the claim is eligible for coverage and will pay the claim directly based on criteria for PayPal Buyer Protection or the eBay Standard Purchase Protection Program.

For more information, please read our Item Not Received Frequently Asked Questions and take the educational tour.

As we draw closer to launch, please look for more updates and informative workshops. We welcome your input on the new Item Not Received Process, and we encourage you to email INRprocess@ebay.com with your comments.

In addition, more US sellers will qualify to offer PayPal Buyer Protection. Starting November 8th, US sellers with 98% total positive feedback will be eligible. Currently, only US sellers with 98% unique feedback are qualified to offer PayPal Buyer Protection on their listings.

As a reminder, for automatic enrollment US sellers must have a verified Premier or Business PayPal account in good standing and have eBay feedback of more than 50 with at least 98% positive feedback. In addition, to be covered, the listing must be on www.ebay.com or www.ebaymotors.com in qualifying categories and sellers must select PayPal as a payment option when they list the item. Please note that PayPal Buyer Protection is only available for tangible goods (items which can be shipped).

For more information about the current PayPal Buyer Protection offering, please visit the PayPal Buyer Protection page on eBay. For more information on the expansion launching November 8th, please see our Frequently Asked Questions.

Regards,
eBay

Over the last year and a half, our efforts to prepare for a consolidated destination for Books, Movies, Music and Video Games on eBay have resulted in numerous innovations that have helped to strengthen the eBay books and media categories. Pre-filled-Item Information and enhanced discoverability for Store Inventory Format items have made selling easier and more profitable. Increased selection and product-based buying have attracted many new buyers to the books and media categories. Many Half.com sellers who have invested time and effort into transitioning their business to eBay have seen very positive results. The marketplace for Books, Movies, Music and Video Games on eBay is more vibrant than ever.

All in all, the product innovations and transition efforts have been highly successful. However, with all the growth in the books and media categories on eBay, we have not seen a corresponding drop in business on Half.com. In fact, loyalty to Half.com has stayed strong.

We have heard from many of you that you want the Half.com site to remain open. Your input, as well as the data and experience we have gained during the transition efforts, is the basis for our decision to keep Half.com open. The buying and selling activity of the Community has proven that the books and media marketplace is healthier and more vibrant with both eBay and Half.com. Going forward, we will invest in both platforms and allow sellers and buyers the flexibility to benefit from the unique opportunities they each allow.

We appreciate the Community’s continuing input and active participation, which help determine the future of eBay and Half.com. To learn more, please read our Half.com Frequently Asked Questions.

Regards,
eBay

Why Item Specifics are Important

As eBay grows, category structure and keyword search alone cannot meet buyers’ needs in all categories. eBay’s multi-layer category structure is a useful way to classify items for sale on the site, however, classification – literally putting items on the proper shelf – is only one part of shopping. Beyond a certain point, a buyer’s need to sort and filter by multiple attributes and dimensions (such as style, brand, genre, format, condition, and price) overwhelms the category structure’s ability to support shopping efficiently. In some categories we have reached that point.

Everyday observations and hard data confirm that buyers use key attributes to narrow down the universe of items available to them to a relevant few that meet their needs—-and ultimately, down to the one thing they wish to purchase. Item Specifics are attributes used by sellers to support Product Finders (drop-down menus on the left-hand side of search and listings pages in selected categories) used by buyers. Finders give buyers a tool to browse and find items with only the attributes they want, in the combinations they choose. Buyers can also save their combinations as Favorite Searches and combine them with keyword search.

While keyword search is powerful and still plays a role in shopping, Product Finders offer a simple, more flexible solution. They make it possible to avoid using long lists of includes and excludes in search strings. This is useful for new buyers, but also for experienced buyers. By manipulating a Product Finder, buyers can browse large sets of results, or find specific items using small sets of results.

For example, if a buyer is looking for a size 6 garnet ring in gold, they would need to create a keyword search using "-silver, -platinum, -white" to rule out those qualities, and use "SZ6, size6" to include variations in size. Using the Rings Product Finder, a buyer can simply select "size=6," "gemstone=garnet," and "metal=yellow gold." Similarly, the Product Finder can take several hundred thousand CD listings, tens of thousands of pants, or any other large collection of similar items, and allow the buyer to filter them down by whatever basis they care about most.

The combinations of attributes will differ for each buyer’s eBay shopping experience. In a marketplace as diverse at eBay’s, at any one time shoppers are using countless combinations of attributes to sort and filter inventory down. In select categories, eBay’s Product Finder allows buyers to shop the way they want.

Why Category Rollups Are Important

Today many of the Item Specifics duplicate the pre-existing category structures. This causes a confusing experience for buyers and unnecessary time and effort from sellers, who must pick both the subcategories and the Item Specifics during the listing process. Because the Product Finders are more flexible and powerful than categories alone, we have decided to roll up redundant category structures where possible.

eBay will continue to rely on category structure as the primary classification system for the listings, but in selected areas category structures will be modified to co-exist and complement the Item Specifics.

For example, much of the Music CD category structure was based on genre, however, ‘genre’ is also a top Item Specific in the CDs Product Finder. After careful review of buyer behavior since Item Specifics was introduced, we decided to rely on Item Specifics rather than on the category structure for genre. With this change, buyers gain flexibility while still being able to browse through different genres of CDs using the CD Product Finder.

To learn more about eBay’s strategy for Item Specifics and the Category Structure, we invite you to attend a Town Hall with Michael Dearing, Vice President of Marketing and Merchandising. This online event will be held Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at 13:00 PST. Please stay tuned for more details on this event.

Regards,
eBay